Billionaire French tycoons faced a mounting backlash on Wednesday over tax breaks on their huge donations to restore Notre-Dame, as Yellow Vest protestors said the hundreds of millions of euros should be spent on tackling France's social problems.

The contributions to the cathedral's renovation approached €900 million (£780m) on Wednesday as the owners of Chanel and Dior stepped forward with donations along with Disney and the technology giant Apple.

However, the outpouring of cash has angered supporters of France's Yellow Vest movement, which noted that President Emmanuel Macron's "rich friends" stood to receive major tax breaks linked to donations in support of the public good and restoring national treasures.

They also pointed out that the sudden willingness of wealthy businesses to turn out their pockets showed that money was available to boost the French government's coffers.

French corporations are eligible for a 60-percent tax rebate on cultural donations. “There is growing anger on social media over the inertia of big corporations over social misery while they are showing themselves capable of mobilising a crazy amount of cash overnight for Notre Dame," said Ingrid Levavasseur, one of the founding members of the Yellow Vests.