Image copyright AFP / GENDARMERIE NATIONALE Image caption Lt-Col Arnaud Beltrame was killed after swapping himself for a hostage in a siege in south-west France

A former French left-wing parliamentary candidate has been arrested over his tweets about a policeman killed during a jihadist siege in southern France last week. READ MORE: 3 homemade bombs found at site of French supermarket attack – report

"Whenever a policeman is shot... "Every time a police officer is killed, and it's not every day, I think of my friend Rémi Fraisse," Stéphane Poussier, a onetime candidate in legislative elections in Northwestern France, tweeted, according to French media. At the time, up to 100 people were under investigation for making comments in support of terrorism, the Times reported. Poussier also wrote that Beltrame's death meant one less voter for French President Emmanuel Macron. In a series of tweets, the politician is said to have celebrated the death of Lieutenant-Colonel Arnaud Beltrame, the gendarme killed after offering himself in exchange for a hostage during Friday’s supermarket siege in Trebes, southwest France. A national tribute is to take place at a later date for Lt Col Beltrane, who President Emmanuel Macron said had "died a hero" and deserved "the respect and admiration of the whole nation". A French politician could face up to seven years in prison and a hefty fine after reportedly being arrested over tweets celebrating the death of a policeman during the terrorist siege in a French supermarket. Stephane Poussier, who stood unsuccessfully for the left-wing La France Insoumise (France Unbowed) party in last year’s general election, was arrested Sunday at his home in Dives-sur-Mer in northwest France, according to French media.
A former French Parliamentarian candidate of the La France Insoumise party is arrested for tweeting that the death of Lt-Col Arnaud Beltrame was "great" and "one less vote for Emmanuel Macron."