Army chief quits after row over budget cuts with Macron
paris — 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 bitter row between 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 ($980 million) from his budget.
Macron, 39, slapped down the 60-year-old general, telling army top brass at their annual summer party “I am the boss” and saying he deeply regretted that the budget row had been dragged into the “public sphere”. In a newspaper interview at the weekend, Macron added that if there was a difference of opinion, “it is the chief of the defence staff who will change his position”.
De Villiers said in his resignation statement he felt he had no choice but to stand down because “I no longer feel able to ensure the sustainability of the model of the armed forces that I think is necessary to guarantee the protection of France and the French people.”
The five-star general said he had believed it was his duty to tell politicians “of my reservations”.
Seen as one of the finest officers of his generation, he had prided himself on looking out for his troops. The row has provoked a debate about whether Macron had humiliated his military chief or whether he had no choice but to exert his authority just two months into his presidency. —