Yes, that is the point. The 'illegals' were told they were French citizens, because France was 'ruling' the North African nations. (Actually stealing their wealth and cheap man-power). All well and good, seeing as those countries were forced to use the French currency (propping up the French currency) and submit to having French courts, gendarmeries and stinking prisons in their nations (ruling). So, no problem moving to France then, those 'French citizens' thought. And no-one batted an eyelid, because, France needed cheap labor, which is easy when there is confusion about the legal status of these 'French' citizens. In the mean time, one can pay substandard wages, and get away with it.

So, in a sense, it is a civil war - these people are sick of being exploited, just as the peasants were sick of the elites back in the commune days. Liberty, Equality and Fraternity, they cried. Sure, it is easy to say they should go back to where to they came from, but many of them were born in France, or they are half 'real' French, because the integration has being going on for nearly a hundred years.

Now, it is very useful to label them as immigrant vermin. The unrest can be well-compared to the lower middle class yellow-vest protests from before. Thus, in the grand scheme of things, the ploy is meant to stir up popular resentment against such actual protests (and end them once and for all). There will be, and already are, cries to quell this outrage, and if the perps are black or brown, then one can pretend that it is just vermin that needs to be eradicated. But... there is the small issue of them having been told that they are French citizens, because North Africans were told just that. In any case, where are they going to go? Libya, Morocco, Tunisia etc. are sh*t-holes, thanks to the idea that Gaddafi must go; and the We came, We saw, he died policies, which are now coming back to bite everyone. NATO has a lot to answer for.

France's rapacious Imperialism destroyed any real economies those African nations had. Now the authorities are lumped with it, back on their own turf.