It's not just the torch hikes, though those are strongly associated with Nazis, neo-Nazis, and American white supremacists.
It's also the naming of their mail server after Hitler's hidden base in Poland, and the railing against "cultural marxism" (itself a Nazi trope). Taken together, these things should register as "yep, probably a Nazi" even if one of them alone wouldn't.
No. Here in France they are sometimes organized as local events, sometimes they're used to --- surprise --- protest. We also have "descente aux flambeaux" (downhill skying with torches.)