Paris (France) (AFP) – Right-wing politicians around the world have seized on France’s riots, casting immigration as the culprit ahead of tense elections testing their own populist credentials.

There has been no link between the violence – which spilled over from cost-of-living protests – and immigration, but the upheaval in France has become a favourite talking point for politicians in the United States, Spain and Israel.

France has been “conquered, looted and burned to the ground by migrants, jihadists and communists”, Trump claimed at a rally ahead of crucial mid-term elections next month, part of repeated attempts by his administration to link Europe to America’s own culture wars.

The leader of Spain’s far-right Vox party, Santiago Abascal – also jockeying for position ahead of elections in November – warned of “Islamo-leftism” in a post showing a fire devouring the 19th-century city hall in the French city of Limoges.

French President Emmanuel Macron appeared to take aim Wednesday at Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu – who claimed France had been hit by an “invasion of extremist Islam” – by criticising “people who campaign at France’s expense” and the “stupid comments by many, including foreign leaders”.

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Among the crowds were “French citizens of immigrant backgrounds”, political scientist Pascal Perrineau told AFP.

But they were just one sub-section of a variety of people involved in the violence, including students, demonstrators with revolutionary-style politics and radical “black bloc” protesters who often “advocate chaos in the streets”.

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Years of recurring, sometimes violent protests – including by the anti-Macron, largely rural Yellow Vest movement – reveal a France that is “deeply divided, in which there is an atmosphere prone to riots,” said Perrineau, predicting an “extremely agitated” presidential election season.

Widespread anger has been building around high costs and poor public services, said Stephane Sirot, a historian of social movements.

The violence “illustrates the problems of a more and more polarised society”.