Muslims in Buddhist-majority Sri Lanka also staged their first demonstration on Wednesday, with hundreds gathering in the capital Colombo near the US embassy.
Al-Azhar, Sunni Islam’s highest authority, condemned the publication of the cartoons, while the Vatican’s official daily Osservatore Romano said the satirical images could throw “fuel on the fire”.
Charlie Hebdo’s editor, Stephane Charbonnier, described those getting irate over the cartoons as “ridiculous clowns” and accused the government of pandering to them by criticising him for being provocative.
The left-wing publication’s offices were firebombed last year after it published an edition “guest-edited by Mohammed” that it called Sharia Hebdo.
French Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said anyone offended by the cartoons could go to court, but he also stressed that in France “freedom of expression is guaranteed, including the freedom to caricature”.
Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said he feared a backlash over the cartoons and announced Friday’s embassy and school closures.
Meanwhile, an actress in the anti-Islamic film trailer that set off the violent protests is suing its reputed producer, saying he duped her into thinking it was about ancient Egyptians.
Cindy Lee Garcia is one of three actresses in the film to have come forward with similar accusations since the explosion of violence in Muslim countries.
She is targeting Nakoula Basseley Nakoula, a 55-year-old Egyptian Copt and convicted fraudster — out on parole — who lives in Los Angeles and has admitted to working on the film.
US media say Nakoula wrote and produced the film, under the pseudonym Sam Bacile before being identified. He was questioned by police last week before going into hiding with his family.
“Mr. Bacile represented to her that the film was indeed an adventure film about ancient Egyptians,” the suit states, adding that the actress has received death threats.
Leaders of the Muslim community in France — the largest in western Europe — said an appeal for calm would be read in mosques across the country on Friday but also condemned the weekly magazine for publishing “insulting” images.
Germany, whose Sudan embassy was torched in the wave of protests, advised its citizens to avoid public gatherings in many Arab countries on Friday.
Washington has also moved to boost security, with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton saying the United States was taking “aggressive steps” to protect diplomatic missions worldwide.
Among those killed in the protests so far have been four US diplomatic staff in Libya, including ambassador Chris Stevens.
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