RUSSIAN trolls have been accused of fuelling the Yellow Vest riots across France by sharing “fake news”.

About 600 Twitter accounts which champion pro-Kremlin views have turned their attention to France’s current struggles, according to the Alliance for Securing Democracy.

19 'Yellow Vest' protesters wrapped in French flags lie on the ground near riot police in Paris on December 8 Credit: AFP or licensors

In a radio interview with RTL yesterday, French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said that French security services are probing possible Russian interference.

Le Drian told the station: “An investigation is now underway. I will not make comments before the investigation has brought conclusions.”

The concerned minister also said: “I know how fragile democracy is.”

Bloomberg reports that while attempts to use fake news reports and cyberattacks to undermine the 2017 campaign of French President Emmanuel Macron failed, Russian-linked sites have promoted murky reports of police mutiny and cops’ backing for protest action.

19 A protester waves a French flag amid smoke during clash with riot police near the Champs Elysees Credit: AFP or licensors

19 French riot police stand on the Champs-Elysees avenue in Paris on December 8 Credit: Getty - Contributor

Bret Schafer, the alliance’s Washington-based social media analyst said French protests have recently featured “at or near the top” of Twitter accounts known to promote Kremlin views.

He said: “That’s a pretty strong indication that there is interest in amplifying the conflict.”

Schafer added that the organisation's monitoring showed that "the protests have been the most popular topic with the [Twitter] accounts that we monitored over the past week.

"For example, #giletsjaunes ['Yellow Vests'] is the most used hashtag, but from what I've seen, most of those hashtags are not connected to fake news.

"Instead, what we're seeing is more likely an effort to pain the EU/liberal order/western democracies in a negative light, which is pretty standard.

"The only difference is we're seeing a more concentrated focus on a non-US social/political issue than we typically see."

The alliance, a unit of the German Marshall Fund of the United States, publicly documents and exposes efforts by Vladimir Putin and “other authoritarian regimes to subvert democracy in the US, in Europe and globally”.

The Moscow Times said that Macron complained during his campaign last year that Kremlin-controlled media outlets were spreading fake news about him as he took a tough stance on Russia than his closest political rivals.

19 Emmanuel Macron, centre, meets with trade union reps today Credit: AP:Associated Press

But that accusation was denied by the Kremlin, which said it did not take part in fake news or cyber-attacks on Macron, slamming such accusations as “slander”.

Russian “troll factories” – notorious for churning out hateful anti-West propaganda on Facebook and Twitter – have long been the subject of articles across the globe.

In April this year, The Sun Online explained how keyboard warriors at a Vladimir Putin troll factory earn almost £1,000 a week by posting hundreds of messages through bogus accounts.

Former trolls employed by the Internet Research Agency spoke about the industrial-scale 24-hour production of social media hate and fake news.

They were typically ordered to bombard message sites and news comment sections with propaganda aimed at turning Brits and Americans against their own governments.

A few examples include rallying support for Brexit, and spreading misinformation about chemical weapons used in attacks in Syria which prompted missile strikes against the Assad regime.

19 For many protesters, Macron is widely seen as arrogant and disconnected from rank-and-file French Credit: AP:Associated Press

In August this year, an article in The Conversation explained such activity further: “Pro-Kremlin trolls generate a stupefying noise through internet activism which seems to originate from citizens.

“They spread conspiratorial theories and create a quasi-political, yet completely hollow public space with a multitude of diverse but prefabricated opinions that jam the web.”

Bloomberg said that social media material on the Yellow Vest riots also comes from Russian state media outlets including the Sputnik news website and the RT television network – the latter of which said that 12 of its reporters have been injured covering the protests.

But, addressing the allegations of Russia's political interference in France, RT has today publicised an official denial.

“Moscow considers protests in France to be an internal affair of that country, and claims of Russia’s involvement in the events are slander," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

19 The claims have been denied on RT's website

19 RT television network posted about the riots on Facebook

Russia sees everything that happens in France as “purely an internal affair” of that country, he added, telling reporters, “we have not interfered and are not going to interfere in the internal affairs of any countries, including France”.

Pescov added that Moscow attaches great importance to developing relations with Paris, and respects France’s sovereignty, RT reported.

Aside from examining Russia's alleged stoking of the riots, French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian has also said that Donald Trump should not comment on France's domestic affairs, notably nationwide protests that began over fuel tax hikes meant to wean the nation off fossil fuels.

President Emmanuel Macron withdrew the planned increase last week in a failed bid to appease sometimes violent protesters.

Trump has tweeted twice on the issue, saying in one tweet last weekend that, "the Paris agreement isn't working out so well for Paris."

19 Graffiti on a vandalised Starbucks coffee shop with smashed front windows Credit: Reuters

19 A woman walks past burned scooters on quai d'Orsay in Paris, on December 9 Credit: AFP or licensors

It was a reference to the 2015 Paris climate accord, which the US is leaving and which Macron has championed worldwide.

Le Drian said on LCI TV on Sunday: "We don't take part in American debates. Let us live our own national life."

He says Macron has told Trump the same thing.

Macron will address the nation this evening, breaking a long silence over rising protests that are shaking France.

19 Workers repair a vandalised franprix, a day after clashes during a protest of Yellow vests (Gilets jaunes) Credit: Getty - Contributor

19 Graffiti sprayed on a wall reads 'Macron, my a**' near the Champs Elysees Credit: EPA

An official said the president will address the nation in a speech from the Elysee Palace. The official wasn't authorised to speak publicly and asked to remain anonymous.

Cities including Paris and Bordeaux exploded into violence on Saturday, during the fourth weekend of demonstrations in a row by Yellow Vest protesters.

Paris' chief prosecutor says that nearly 1,000 people, nearly 100 of them minors and most without police records, are being held in custody after weekend protests in the French capital that turned violent.

Remy Heitz also said at a news conference yesterday that the prosecutor's office was seeking preliminary charges against who they believe is the main person responsible for graffiti scrawled on the Arc de Triomphe last weekend.

19 Vehicles have been set alight during the protest action Credit: Reuters

19 The Yellow Vests said their protests would continue indefinitely as they campaign for even more tax reductions Credit: Getty - Contributor

Thirteen others were already handed preliminary charges over vandalism of the monument.

Most of those in custody were men under 40 from various regions who came to Paris for the fourth Saturday of protests by a ballooning grassroots movement angry about a fuel tax hike and other issues.

Paris monuments have since reopened, as cleanup workers cleared debris and shop owners tried to put the city on its feet again Sunday, a day after running battles between yellow-vested protesters and riot police left 71 injured and caused widespread damage to the French capital.

19 The current spate of Paris violence is considered the worst since the Spring of 1968 Credit: Getty - Contributor

19 Many stores, including this Dior shop, have been preparing for such protests by boarding up windows Credit: AP:Associated Press

19 Broken bus stop, with the Eiffel Tower in the background: December 9 Credit: AFP or licensors

Armoured cars, water canon and thousands of rounds of tear gas were used against the Yellow Vest fuel price rise opponents, who are named after the high visibility jackets all motorists carry in France.

The economy minister, meanwhile, has lamented the damage to the economy.

"This is a catastrophe for commerce, it's a catastrophe for our economy," Bruno Le Maire said on Sunday while visiting merchants around the Saint Lazare train station, among areas hit by vandalism as the pre-Christmas shopping season got underway.

Thierry Paul Valette, who helps coordinate yellow vest protesters who come to Paris, said the president must announce concrete measures to quell the fury.

19 A man walks past a sign reading 'Give the money back' onPlace de la Republique in Paris, December 9 Credit: AFP or licensors

It won't be enough to announce negotiations, he said in an interview with The Associated Press. People want change and "concrete, immediate, right now" measures.

Even if Macron withdraws his signature slashing of the wealth tax, "half of the yellow vests will go home, the other half will want him to resign and will stay in the streets," Valette predicted. "Because the movement isn't controllable."

There was also damage in other cities, notably Marseille, Toulouse and Bordeaux.

19 A picture taken on December 9, 2018 on Marceau avenue in Paris, shows a damaged golf shop window Credit: AFP or licensors

19 Above: taken on December 9, 2018 near Saint-Lazare railway station in Paris, this image shows a damaged bakery a day after a 'yellow vest' demonstration as part of a fourth weekend of nationwide protests Credit: AFP or licensors

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Seventeen of the injured were police officers.

Jean-Claude Delage of the Alliance police union urged the government on Sunday to come up with responses to France's "social malaise."

He told BFM television that working class protesters were deliberately targeting high-end shops in Paris that were selling goods they couldn't afford.

Luxury shops on the posh Avenue Montaigne were totally boarded up on Saturday.

In a knock at Macron, graffiti on the wall of one read: "You don't cross the street, you take it," mocking the president's response to a young unemployed gardener that he can "cross the street" to find a job.