Eric Comyn, an officer in the gendarmerie or military police, was killed in the south of France outside the town of Mougins on Monday by a driver who refused to stop during a traffic stop.

The driver is suspected to be a man from Cape-Verde with permission to reside in France and a driving licence but who had been convicted for numerous violations related to road behaviour and other incidents in the past.

He was later arrested outside the city of Cannes and tested positive for alcohol intoxication.

The incident has again fuelled debates about law and order in France which were a major feature of legislative elections earlier this summer where the far right recorded major gains.

“I say it loud and clear: France killed my husband… France killed my husband through its inadequacy, its laxity and its excess of tolerance. France killed my husband,” Harmonie Comyn told a ceremony in remembrance of the gendarme.

“Why is this repeat offender allowed to move around freely? When will our legislators truly open their eyes? Do they have to be directly affected to act? How many deaths before these murderers are truly punished?” she asked.

She emphasised: “I am not talking about foreigners. I am talking about repeat offenders.”

Comyn, 54, was the father of two children aged 12 and 16.

A murder investigation has been opened. President Emmanuel Macron in a post on social media had paid tribute to Comyn, saying he was “run down by a criminal”.