Stéphane Simon, 45, designed the nude statues in the pose of men and women taking a selfie with an invisible mobile phone.

However, the genitalia of his statues was covered up during European Heritage Days in September in anticipation of the arrival of a Muslim delegation.

Legal historian Jacques Bouineau compared Unesco’s actions to Daniele da Volterra, who covered up Michaelangelo’s The Last Judgment on behalf of the Catholic Church, The Times reports.

He added: “And it’s in Paris, the capital of a secular state, in 2019, that a similar censorship is imposed upon an artist. Are we going to have to cover up Michelangelo’s David, or the nude women of Rubens and Ingres?”

A spokesperson for Unesco said: “We didn’t want to censor the artist, and understand that he felt hurt.”