Uber has decided to halt its low-cost UberPOP service in France following recent protests over the service's legality, Digital Spy reports.

The move follows increased tension between non-professional Uber drivers and standard taxi drivers, which erupted in violent riots in Paris last week.

Taxi drivers who don't work for Uber claim the San Francisco-based firm has an unfair advantage over competitors because Uber drivers do not need a taxi licence or training - despite the presence of a law, passed last year, requiring all chauffeurs to hold a professional licence and insurance.

Regulators and taxi unions have called for a complete ban on Uber in France - following on from Germany's ban last year - but Uber has appealed in domestic and EU courts.

However, due to the hostility towards Uber drivers, the company has decided to suspend the service at least until the Constitutional Court's decision in September.

"In the light of last week's violence, we have today decided to suspend UberPOP, our ride sharing service, until September's Constitutional Court decision," the company said in a statement.

"It's a tremendously sad day for our 500,000 French UberPOP passengers, as well as the drivers who used the platform. However, safety must come first."

Uber's director general Thibaud Simphal and its director for Western Europe Pierre-Dimitri Gore Coty were taken into police custody following the Paris protests.