General takes on ‘boss’ Macron, hangs his boots
French military chief quits over defence spending cuts
French leader Emmanuel Macron faced the biggest crisis of his young presidency on Wednesday following the resignation of the head of the armed forces, whom he had rebuked for criticising defence spending cuts.
The row between Mr Macron and General Pierre De Villiers blew up last week when the Chief of Staff told a parliamentary committee he would not allow the armed forces to be “screwed” by the government’s plans to slash 850 million euros from this year’s Budget.
Mr Macron, 39, slapped down the 60-year-old, fivestar General telling Army top brass at their annual summer party, “I am the boss” and that he deeply regretted that the Budget dispute had been dragged into the “public sphere”.
In a newspaper interview at the weekend, Mr Macron added that if there was a difference of opinion, “it is the chief of the defence staff who will change his position”.
General De Villiers, who had been in the job for three years, said he felt he had no choice but to stand down. Mr Macron named 55-year-old General Francois Lecointre, currently the top military adviser to the PM, as his replacement.
General De Villiers is seen as one of the finest officers of his generation. He is well-liked by the rank and file and said he believed it was his duty to inform politicians of his “reservations”.
A former head of the French air force, General Vincent Lanata, told L’Express news weekly on Tuesday he was “very shocked” by Macron’s “rant” at De Villiers.
Far-right leader Marine Le Pen said the French military had lost “a man of huge value” in General De Villiers and claimed his resignation showed “the very serious abuses and worrying limits” of Mr Macron’s leadership.