France is to deploy an “exceptional” number of security forces around the country on Saturday as the government braces for yellow vest protests of “great violence” in the capital despite making key concessions.

Tourists have been urged not to cancel their trips to Paris over the protests, despite the closure of around a dozen cultural sites, including the Eiffel Tower, due to security fears.

Police urged shops and restaurants on the Champs-Elysees to shut on Saturday to avoid fresh damage after last weekend’s riots, the worst in decades.

Edouard Philippe, the prime minister, told senators that an unspecified number of additional new forces would be deployed on top of the 65,000 security officers already in place for the protests in Paris and elsewhere.

An official in Macron's office warned that intelligence suggested some protesters intended to come to the capital this Saturday "to smash and to kill."