Along the normally bustling Rue St.-Denis in central Paris, almost every store was shuttered.

At one clinic, only a handful of patients and doctors milled about. Most doctors had canceled appointments for the next two days, and the waiting room was nearly empty.

Diego Piemental, 34, a manager at a nearby hair salon, gestured to his only client on Thursday afternoon. His bookings had fallen by more than half, he said.

“It’s close to a holiday, when business is normally up,” he said. “And if the shops remain closed, tourists won’t come here, so that will mean even fewer clients.”

With a large number of employees taking part in the protests, the Musée d’Orsay and the Eiffel Tower were also closed. The Louvre was open, though visitors were not able to see all of the collections, and the Palace of Versailles was recommending that visitors reschedule for a later date.

The Trocadéro Esplanade, which provides the best vantage point to photograph the tower, is normally packed with tourists, but on Thursday there were only a few.

“You can see for yourself, it’s empty,’’ said one annoyed vendor, one of only four selling plastic replicas of the tower and other trinkets.

“It’s noon — usually this place is packed with tourists,’’ said Zehar Chakri, 31, whose family owns a tourist kiosk, Souvenir de Paris, in front of the esplanade. “We haven’t sold anything today. I hope the strike doesn’t last beyond this weekend. December is usually our best month.’’