A man in Paris has banned all bankers from entering his restaurant, after he was unable to find a bank willing to grant him a loan to open a second shop. Alexandre Callet, who needed €70,000 (Rs 5,320,000), put up a blackboard outside his eatery that read, “Dogs allowed, bankers forbidden (unless they pay an entry fee of €70,000)”.

The 30-year-old runs bistro Les Écuries de Richelieu, which appears in the prestigious Michelin guide and earned €3,00,000 last year. “A lot of bankers who turned me down know me,” Callet said, adding that he had never had financial problems before. He also criticised the French government, saying it has forced many such businesses in the country to resort to crowdfunding.

In 2012, the businessman had announced his intention to become president of France. He had said he would contest from neither the left nor the right but from the “extreme centre”.