The Chinese embassy in Paris said Sunday the hunt is continuing for thieves who robbed 23 Chinese tourists shortly after they touched down at Roissy-Charles de Gaulle Airport outside the French capital on Wednesday.

"We have repeatedly called for a break in the case, although haven't been informed of any progress from the police," an embassy official, surnamed Wang, told the Global Times.

The 23 tourists, from East China's Jiangsu Province, were robbed while dining at a restaurant near the airport. At least four thieves carried out the robbery, stealing passports, flight tickets and cash collectively held by the tour group's guide, who was injured.

The group was reissued with travel documents on Friday and continued their European tour, according to a notice on the embassy's website.

The notice also said local police attach "great importance" to the robbery, and will take measures to protect Chinese tourists in France.

"Safety has become a prominent concern for Chinese traveling in France, as Chinese tourists usually carry large amounts of cash to buy high-end products in the country," said Hu Ronghua, vice director of the Center for European Studies at Fudan University.

Wang said the embassy reissues hundreds of passports annually to Chinese tourists whose passports are stolen.

Theft in Paris increased in January more than 50 percent year-on-year, according to a recent report by French newspaper Le Figaro.

Hu said the issue of traveler safety wouldn't impact France's tourism industry too severely, adding most "reported cases are not violent."

Annual tourism revenue reached 77 billion euros ($100 billion) last year in France, the country's Minister for Crafts, Trade and Tourism, Sylvia Pinel, told daily Les Échos.