A 25-YEAR-OLD Irish woman who was beaten on the head with a motorcycle chain lock in an apparently random attack in France has been released from hospital.

Three men attacked the tourist as she returned to her lodgings in the centre of the southern French town of Avignon at around 7am on Saturday.

During the attack she was pushed and hit with the chain. Police said she suffered serious injuries to her mouth, cheeks and nose.

She was taken to hospital for treatment but was released on Monday afternoon.

"She is in a state of shock," a police source told Le Dauphiné Libéré newspaper.

The men ran off after the attack, leaving the chain behind them on the Rue des Infirmières, where the young woman was staying.

The victim told police she did not know the identity of the attackers.

Police are trying to establish a motive for the attack.

Avignon is hugely popular with tourists and draws hundreds of thousands of visitors every year.