Yellow vest: Trump criticises Paris protest; France says 'don't interfere'

United States President Donald Trump has criticised the ongoing fourth-weekend of "yellow vest" protests across France which are being staged against the hike in fuel taxes, linking it to the "ridiculous and extremely expensive" Paris Agreement.

"Very sad day & night in Paris. Maybe it's time to end the ridiculous and extremely expensive Paris Agreement and return money back to the people in the form of lower taxes? The US was way ahead of the curve on that and the only major country where emissions went down last year!" he had tweeted.

Two days after Trump criticised the French government, French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian has warned the US President not to meddle in France's internal matters.

Le Drian said: "I am telling Donald Trump, we do not take part in the American debates, let us live our life of a nation. Do not interfere in French politics," according to Anadolu News Agency.

In a strongly worded statement, the French Foreign Minister stressed that France does not interfere in American politics and the US should reciprocate.

Trump had also criticised the Paris agreement, tweeting: "The Paris Agreement isn't working out so well for Paris. Protests and riots all over France. People do not want to pay large sums of money, much to third world countries (that are questionably run), in order to maybe protect the environment. Chanting "We Want Trump!" Love France"

In response to this, Le Drian said that most American citizens were unhappy with Trump over his decision to back out from the Paris Agreement.

The protests on Saturday were the fourth in a series that culminated into the worst rioting in France for decades.

The government expects more protests in the country in the following days, owing to which, around 89,000 security personnel have been deployed across France.

A number of France's monuments, including the iconic Eiffel Tower in Paris, remained closed as authorities anticipated a repeat of last week's violence, deploying over 8,000 policemen in the French capital to maintain order.

The yellow vest protests, which initially began as a campaign against skyrocketing fuel prices, has expanded into a huge agitation over discontent on a wide variety of issues against the French government in recent weeks.

Earlier on Saturday, Trump showed his solidarity to the people of France where about 200 people were arrested, with the police resorting to firing hundreds of tear gas shells to disperse the crowd that gathered in Paris.

"The Paris Agreement isn't working out so well for Paris. Protests and riots all over France. People do not want to pay large sums of money, much to third world countries (that are questionably run), in order to maybe protect the environment. Chanting "We Want Trump!" Love France," he had tweeted.

Signed in December 2015 by 195 nations, the Paris climate deal sets a target of holding the global average rise in temperature below 2 degree Celsius above pre-industrial levels, and preferably below 1.5 degree Celsius.

In June this year, Trump had announced that the US, one of the world's largest producers of carbon emissions, would be withdrawing from the deal on climate change. He asserted that the accord would "undermine the US economy and will put the country at a permanent disadvantage" and would "affect American businesses and workers".

Earlier this week, the Emmanuel Macron-led French government decided to scrap the hike in fuel taxes amid fears of an outbreak of fresh protests in the country.

While protesters have welcomed the move to drop the tax hike, others said it will not be enough to curb the public outrage.

Macron is set to meet union leaders and address the nation on Monday.