Robert Ménard, 61, poses next to the controversial poster

The outspoken mayor of Béziers has defended his “no-nonsense” poster campaign advertising the police’s use of new handguns amid criticism from the government and widespread mockery on social media.

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Robert Ménard said the posters, which describe the 7.65 calibre guns as the police’s “new friend”, would “instill fear” in criminals in the southern French city.

The former human rights campaigner, who is now supported by the far-right National Front, said they would also “comfort the people of Béziers, who know they have a police force at their disposal, and one that is armed”.

While most municipal police officers in France already carry guns, the tone of the campaign in Béziers has triggered a row in political circles and on social media.

Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve has slammed the adverts’ “deliberately provocative tone”, saying they are reductive of police officers’ role.

“Police’s best friends are not their weapons, which guarantee their protection, but citizens who respect Republican values,” Cazeneuve said in a statement.

Elie Aboud, the conservative local MP, was equally critical, claiming Ménard was offering Béziers the “Wild West”.

Désormais la police municipale à un nouvel ami #Beziers #Menard pic.twitter.com/o8c1lTMBOh — Ahmed Meguini ✏️ (@Meguini) 11 Février 2015

Local residents were quick to share pictures of the posters on social media along with sarcastic comments. “Béziers, its Wild West, its cowboys,” tweeted @SofiaA1007.

Soon people across France were posting spoof versions of the poster, replacing the handgun with army tanks and bottles of pastis, southern France’s iconic alcoholic beverage.

Ménard has courted controversy on numerous occasions since his election in March 2014, aided by Marine Le Pen’s National Front.

Contentious moves include imposing an evening curfew for youths aged under 13, and the decision to rename a street after a French general who attempted to stage a coup in Algiers in 1962 to derail Algerian independence from France.

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