Thousands of people sought to rent places to hold clandestine parties in France at the end of the summer despite the coronavirus pandemic, Airbnb has said.

The platform said it blocked more than 30,500 reservations in France between mid-August, when it tightened its rules and banned parties at rental properties, and mid-September.

The platform said it had also suspended or cancelled around 900 listings after complaints about violations and was determined to shut off access to people who do not respect the rules.