Great question. In Paris and its surrounding region in particular, there are large immigrant populations. Often they come from former French colonies in North Africa, and these groups have been racialized, otherized, and ostracized (different language, different religion, different skin color and facial features, etc). There has been a lot more mask-off racist aggression from cops being caught on camera hurling racial epithets, invoking the age-old racist trope of sexual aggression being "normal" in Muslim cultures, and essentially calling everyone else race traitors who "deserve what's coming to them". These cops are covering their badges and identification with fascist and misogynist symbols. One local politician who joined the protest was pushed to the ground and clubbed while the cop said "you may have been elected but you're still a piece of shit like everyone else".

So to answer your question: yes, the fascists in France are posing it as a racial issue.