A mayor in France has been accused of turning the local police force into “Dirty Harry” after a poster campaign trumpeted their “new friend”: a 7.65-mm handgun.

Billboards throughout central Béziers, southwestern France, feature large pictures of the semi-automatic weapon with the caption: “From now on, the municipal police has a new friend.”

Robert Ménard, the mayor, said the posters were “appropriate”.

“Yes, our town likes law and order. The rules have changed,” he said. “It is reassuring for residents, who know they have armed police to protect them. It is reassuring for the police themselves.”