Every Friday, certain streets in Paris are blocked with barriers to accommodate an enormous crowd of Muslims, many of them from faraway parts of the city.

They pray and worship on the public streets, protected by their own private security, CBN Paris said.

During the prayers those who live within the district cannot go outside of their homes, and those who are on their way home can't pass through the streets during the Moslem prayer time. This is done with no authorization by the police. And although it is illegal, the local police are under orders not to interfere, according to CBN Paris.

One French citizen used a hidden camera to film the scene, which was uploaded on YouTube. As a result he has been receiving death threats, and now goes by the pseudonym, Maxime Lepante, CBN Paris reported.

A ban on street prayers, a practice by French Muslims unable to find space in mosques, has come into effect in the capital, Paris.

Interior Minister Claude Gueant has offered believers the use of a disused fire brigade barracks instead.

The phenomenon of street prayers, which see Muslims spreading mats on footpaths, became a political issue after far right protests.

Speaking earlier this week to Le Figaro, Gueant said about 1,000 people were using two streets in the capital's multi-ethnic Goutte d'Or district for prayers.

He said an agreement had been reached with two local mosques for the state to rent out the disused barracks on Boulevard Ney for three years.

It's the beginning of a solution, Sheikh Mohammed Salah Hamza told Reuters news agency: The faithful are very pleased to be here.