This weekend, protests in France reached new violent levels after several weeks of riots and fires. On Saturday, city halls were stormed and set on fire, shops were looted, and streets became veritable war zones. The U.S. Vice President points to liberal immigration policies as an underlying cause of the chaos. But when Moderate Party parliamentary veteran Jan Ericson analyzes the violence, he doesn’t focus on immigration. Instead, he insinuates that Russia is behind it––despite openly admitting he has no evidence for it. At the same time, a French state agency previously found no proof of foreign manipulation behind the spread of school protests on social media.

After several weeks of violent school protests, unrest in France escalated further on Saturday, October 17. In several cities, war-like scenes unfolded as masked groups stormed city halls, looted shops, set buildings and vehicles on fire, and attacked police officers.

One of the most notable incidents occurred in Limoges in central France, where masked perpetrators set fire to a police car outside the city hall.

Windows were then shattered, and people broke into the building, which was also set on fire. The flames spread rapidly, and the roof collapsed over large parts of the structure.

READ ALSO: Chaos in Multicultural France – City Halls Stormed and Shops Looted

The historic city hall, inaugurated in 1883, was thus 143 years old. Since 1975, the building had been protected as a historical monument. According to local authorities, about two-thirds of the building’s exterior has been destroyed, and the city hall is described as largely lost.

Similar violence was reported in several other French cities. In Marseille, the city hall was stormed, and similar scenes unfolded in Bordeaux. In Paris, Lyon, and many other large cities, cars were set on fire, storefronts shattered, and shops looted.

In the capital Paris, masked gangs attacked with various weapons and threw objects at police, who responded with tear gas and water cannons.

According to the French government, about 550,000 people took part in Saturday’s demonstrations, while the organizers estimated the number at 800,000.

However, these figures also include previously planned demonstrations where unions, farmers, teachers, and other professionals gathered to protest the government’s policies on Saturday.

On Saturday evening, Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu announced that 1,200 people had been arrested and 150 police officers injured.

The unrest gained momentum in September with protests claimed to be about teacher shortages and poor conditions in French schools. However, the discontent has in many cases manifested in almost absurd ways, with schools set on fire and violent attacks on police officers.

For several weeks, videos from various parts of France have shown extensive destruction and violent riots, with participants primarily being individuals of immigrant background.

France’s Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez primarily points to groups from the far-left as responsible for the organized attacks on police officers and public buildings during the protests.

President Emmanuel Macron has also condemned the violence and promised that those responsible will be prosecuted and punished. He emphasizes that freedom of assembly must be protected, but that violent offenders must not be allowed to destroy the country and its institutions.

Authority: No Foreign Influence

One person who seems to have more information than both the French authorities and media is former Moderate Party MP Jan Ericson, who served in parliament during the Reinfeldt years without causing much stir regarding the migration policy that opened the doors for large-scale immigration to Sweden.

After 20 years in the parliament, which he left before the new term, he took to social media on Saturday evening to insinuate that Russia could be behind the violent riots in France.

This despite the fact that a French authority had already examined the spread of the school protests for foreign influence at the end of September.

On September 28, the French daily Le Monde reported that the country’s agency for detecting and countering foreign information influence, Viginum, could not identify any amplification of protest content on social media by foreign actors.

“Of Course I Have No Evidence”

No evidence has emerged that a foreign power was behind the mobilization and protests. Nevertheless, the Moderate veteran goes ahead with his own speculations about Russian involvement.

READ ALSO: Moderate Leader Suggests AFD and “Foreign Power” Behind Stabbings in Germany

The veteran also admits that he completely lacks evidence for his suspicions, but still chooses to spread speculation and thereby fuel an unsubstantiated belief in Russian involvement.

As justification, he refers to knowing that “foreign terror powers in the east would like to destabilize Europe.”

Liberals Imported the Third World

U.S. Vice President JD Vance, on the other hand, argues that what is currently happening in France is the consequence of the mass immigration that Western liberals have brought into EU countries––in other words, the immigration policy that Jan Ericson himself represented during his many years as a Moderate MP under Fredrik Reinfeldt’s leadership.

The Moderate is challenged by right-wing debater Chang Frick, who considers Jan Ericson’s analysis to be completely wrong. According to Frick, the unrest is rather a consequence of France having “imported the third world.”

Another critic goes significantly further and calls the former parliamentarian, who served for 20 years, “completely retarded.” According to this individual, it is our own politicians who, through their immigration policies, have imported these problems to the EU.

READ ALSO: Moderate Leader: “Extremely Frustrated” by “Russian Tourists” – Guide: “They’re Ukrainian Girls”

When the consequences of these policies become apparent, these same politicians, according to the critic, have the nerve to blame a country outside of the EU instead of taking responsibility for their own decisions.

Jan Ericson has responded to the criticism by once again, without providing any evidence, claiming that “Russia can exploit weaknesses and tensions in Europe to destabilize.”

READ ALSO: Moderate Leader Attacks the White House: “Must be Bought by Putin”

According to the veteran Moderate, the purpose of such interference would be to worsen the unrest and create the exact chaos currently playing out in France.

The Moderate veteran then continues to repeat the same response to several of those who criticize his line of reasoning.