"I want a police and justice system that can act as close as possible to citizens, that meet their expectations, that have the means", he declared in a broadcast speech, defending "the right to tranquility" for "every citizen, regardless of where they live".

He proposed "an overhaul of the organization of the police forces" and the "recruitment of 30,000 police officers", in front of 1,200 people gathered in Anzin, not far from his town of Saint-Amand-les-Eaux.

Denouncing a justice "out of breath from being weakened by exclusively accounting policies", he promised "real estates general of justice", and "a budget catch-up law over five years (...) for achieve a doubling of the budget".

Fabien Roussel notably promised to "double the means of the National Financial Prosecutor's Office as well as those of the Central Office for the Fight against Corruption and Offenses".

"I have complete confidence in them to tackle white-collar criminals," he said, wishing they could "scrutinize the accounts of multinationals who receive public money and who practice tax evasion" .

Mr. Roussel himself has recently been targeted by a PNF investigation for "embezzlement of public funds", accused of having been paid between 2009 and 2014 as an assistant to a deputy, without having actually worked for Parliament.

The candidate claims to have "documents" proving his activity.

Wanting "to put an end to the enrichment of political leaders who accumulate emoluments as some accumulate attendance fees on boards of directors", the pretender to the Elysée Palace also wondered "how certain candidates for the election presidential have been able to accumulate such a heritage, to the point of being a millionaire?

"It's not at home that you have to look if there is enrichment," he said.

Mr. Roussel also promised to "end the life salary of the Presidents of the Republic".

If the current president was beaten, "he would quickly find a job in a bank", he argued, but "it would be inflated if he received a banker's salary and a former president's salary".

© 2022 AFP