PARIS - It's lunchtime and Parisians are queuing for baguettes at a bakery on the Rue Montmartre, a sight long typical of life in the French capital.

But three cyclists clad in neon-blue outfits chat outside and regularly check the smartphones strapped to their wrists, waiting for orders to whisk meals from nearby restaurants and bistros to other Parisians in their homes or offices.

They're among an army of riders working for the British-based Deliveroo firm who have rapidly become a familiar sight pedaling up and down the city's boulevards.