A woman who went viral for bravely standing up to the Paris rioters, screaming at them to stop looting a supermarket at the height of the mayhem, has been identified as a 24-year-old actress by French media.

Drama student and model Emma Kunstlich, 24, was horrified when youths clad in balaclavas began smashing shop windows and looting before her eyes, according to French newspaper Le Monde.

Clearly distraught at seeing the mob ransacking the shelves of the convenience store near Place de la Republique, while a male assistant watches helplessly, footage showed the woman trying to block the door to the shop.

Eventually she is pushed out of the way by the thugs, as one of them holds onto her and she screams ‘Stop, stop why are you doing this? This is not the cause!’

She added: ‘Hey, don’t touch me! Stop. What’s the point of doing this?

‘There’s a man inside, by himself! Look! Stop this!’

Her identity was first confirmed by the news organisation. She told them: ‘They don’t even have a political message. They’re just breaking things and stealing, without grasping the consequences of their actions.

‘And if the RN [far-right National Rally, led by Jean-Marie Le Pen] comes to power, we’re all going to be in deep s**t!’

A source later confirmed to Le Monde that they had been able to confirm Ms Kunstlich’s identity amid global speculation.

The clip, which quickly went viral on social media, gained traction with many who sympathised with the anti-government protest, but drew the line at the mindless looting and vandalism which has scarred Paris and other French cities.

As the clip rapidly spread around social media, some posters inevitably added their own spin, such as claiming that she was the owner of a boutique and it was her shop being looted.

Others suggested she had somehow been an enthusiastic advocate for migrants and was now being ‘repaid’. There is no evidence to back any of these claims up.

It comes as dozens of protesters took to the Paris streets on Thursday despite bans on demonstrations ordered in multiple French cities following a weekend of clashes and widespread looting that marked France’s most violent unrest in years.

Organisers of the Paris protest said an administrative court in the city overturned a ban issued by police.

The Paris police prefecture previously said the ban was necessary, given the risk of street violence after groups of masked youth clashed with police forces, looted shops and torched cars over the weekend.

Read More: Woman who stood up to Paris looters in viral video ‘is 24-year-old actress’