Vandals have attacked a large inflatable sculpture that sparked outrage in Paris for its resemblance to a sex toy.

Cables supporting the 24-metre green piece by US artist Paul McCarthy – which he said was inspired by a Christmas tree and a butt plug – were cut on Saturday, leaving the artwork slumped on the pavement in the Place Vendôme and forcing a security guard to deflate it, police said.

“An unidentified group of people cut the cables which were holding the artwork, which caused it to collapse,” police told Reuters. “The person responsible for the piece then decided to deflate it to avoid it being more seriously damaged.”

The deflated sculpture was being removed from the square on Saturday afternoon.

It provoked both mirth and outrage on the streets and social media when it was unveiled next to the Ritz hotel on Thursday.

One man was so incensed that he slapped McCarthy three times in the face, yelling that he was not French and that his work had no business in the square, before running off, the Le Monde newspaper reported.

The Paris mayor, Anne Hidalgo, said the attack was unacceptable and denounced the assault on McCarthy.

“Paris will not succumb to the threats of those who, by attacking an artist or a work, are attacking artistic freedom,” she said in a statement. “Art has its place in our streets and nobody will be able to chase it away.”

The 69-year-old contemporary artist is known for his controversial and ambiguous works, but even he was surprised at the reception he got in Paris, better known for its relaxed attitude toward sexual matters.

An official from the FIAC contemporary art fair, which put on the exhibition, said the offenders had first unplugged the pump that kept the structure standing up.

The FIAC said it intended to resurrect the sculpture as soon as possible.