France's armed forces chief Pierre de Villiers resigned on Wednesday after a clash with President Emmanuel Macron over defense spending cuts.
The row between Macron and de Villiers broke out last week when the 60-year-old general protested Macron government’s budget plan to cut defense ministry expenditure by 850 million euros (980.4 million US dollars) this year.
French Army Chief General Pierre De Villiers attending a ceremony at the Paris Military School during the first official meeting between the two countries' chiefs of staff in Paris on January 22, 2016. /VCG Photo
French Army Chief General Pierre De Villiers attending a ceremony at the Paris Military School during the first official meeting between the two countries' chiefs of staff in Paris on January 22, 2016. /VCG Photo
President Macron answered de Villiers, saying that “I have made commitments, I am your boss.”
According to the proposed budget cuts, the savings would be put into “public sphere.”
De Villiers, regarded as “one of the finest officers of his generation, seemed to have no choice this time but to stand down according to his resignation statement.
“In the current circumstances I see myself as no longer able to guarantee the robust defense force I believe is necessary to guarantee the protection of France and the French people, today and tomorrow, and to sustain the aims of our country,” de Villiers said.
French President Emmanuel Macron (R) shaking hands with Chief of the Defence Staff French army General Pierre de Villiers (L) next to outgoing French President Francois Hollande (C) during a ceremony marking the 72nd anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany during World War II in Paris on May 08, 2017. /VCG Photo
French President Emmanuel Macron (R) shaking hands with Chief of the Defence Staff French army General Pierre de Villiers (L) next to outgoing French President Francois Hollande (C) during a ceremony marking the 72nd anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany during World War II in Paris on May 08, 2017. /VCG Photo
BBC commented that “not many are speaking up for the president” this time while “more important people stand by de Villiers’s side.”
Former chief of the French armed forces Henri Bentégeat criticized Macron saying “You (Macron) can't publicly question a military leader like that in front of his subordinates."
Marine Le Pen, the far-right leader beaten by Macron in the president election, felt sad about de Villiers’ resign asserting that the French military had lost “a man of huge value.”
French President Emmanuel Macron (L) and Chief of the Defence Staff, French Army General Pierre de Villiers riding aboard a command car during the annual Bastille Day military parade on the Champs-Elysees avenue in Paris on July 14, 2017. /VCG Photo
French President Emmanuel Macron (L) and Chief of the Defence Staff, French Army General Pierre de Villiers riding aboard a command car during the annual Bastille Day military parade on the Champs-Elysees avenue in Paris on July 14, 2017. /VCG Photo
De Villiers’ resignation is regarded as the “biggest crisis” of Macron’s young presidency so far, but Macron behaves tough. He immediately appointed General Francois Lecointre as the new head of the French army.
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