Tourists are cancelling their holidays in France to avoid getting caught up in riots. Images of people ransacking luxury shops in Paris, setting fires to cars and clashing with police already appear to have scared off some visitors, according to Frank Delvau, president of the UMIH hospitality union in Paris Île-de-France. About 10 per cent of hotel bookings have been cancelled, and there are fears the figure could rise if fresh protests planned for Saturday also turn violent.

“New excesses, widely reported in the foreign press, would amplify the phenomenon,” Mr Delvau told Le Parisien. Thailand and Malaysia have issued travel advisories warning their citizens against all but essential travel to France, while China has advised travellers to take safety precautions. On Monday, art students blocked the Louvre Museum as part of the protests, angering visitors and making international headlines.

Protesters blockaded the entrance to the Louvre Museum in Paris on Monday An estimated 550,000 protesters rallied across France on Saturday to demonstrate against the cost of living and under-resourced schools. But the protests descended into chaos after rioters, many of whom the government said were ultra-Left extremists, clashed with police and began looting shops.

Emmanuel Macron, the French president, has banned “groups without legitimacy” from holding further protests. “The priority is a return to calm,” he said. Mr Macron added that he would hold a defence council meeting with ministers on Friday to decide “the next steps” before new nationwide demonstrations at the weekend.

More than 2,510 people were taken into police custody across France over the weekend, with the influx overwhelming French courts. Images showed long queues outside the Paris Criminal Court and its halls crowded.

According to French media reports, some of the defendants claimed they did not know that their actions met the legal definition of theft when they picked up looted clothes they found on the ground.

Two women, thought to be tourists, were seen wheeling their suitcases through protesters during recent riots in Paris French social media users have also been encouraging others to name and shame rioters. Under the hashtag #balancetoncasseur or “out your rioter”, internet sleuths have been zooming in on images of offenders and posting them online.

Looters damaged 3,000 businesses across France during the weekend and nervous shopkeepers have been preparing security measures as they brace themselves for a fresh round of violence on Saturday.

“We have to arm ourselves now. There is no mercy,” a 62-year-old restaurateur, who gave his name only as Philippe, told news outlet France Info. “The videos we’ve seen, where people protect their stores and get kicked in the face, it’s unacceptable.”Orders for non-lethal weapons, such as self-defence accessories, rubber-bullet guns and tear gas balls, at a specialist shop in Paris have increased tenfold, according to Le Parisien. Luxury retailers have also hired private security guards to defend their shops.

Videos from the weekend showed some shopkeepers fighting back against the rioters, including a woman who tried to defend her shop against dozens of looters with an iron bar while screaming. In Nice, an employee of a video game shop was filmed being drop-kicked in the back, sending him to the ground.

After facing fierce criticism over inadequate police resources during the weekend, the government has promised to beef up security by 20 per cent this weekend.