French military chief quits after Macron row

POLITICS | FRANCE

French leader Emmanuel Macron faced the biggest crisis of his young presidency on Wednesday following the resignation of the military chief he had rebuked for criticising defence spending cuts.

The row between Macron and General Pierre De Villiers (pictured) blew up last week when the chief of the defence 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 the budget.

Macron, 39, replied later that "I am the boss" and criticised the 60-year-old general for dragging the budget row 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 general, who is widely liked by the rank and file, said that throughout his career, he had believed it was his duty to tell politicians "of my reservations".

Humiliation

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.

A former head of the French air force, General Vincent Lanata, told L'Express news weekly on Friday he was "very shocked" by Macron's "rant" at De Villiers.

The deep cuts to the defence budget have angered the military because Macron has shown his support for the army, navy and air force since he came to power in May.

The cuts are part of 4.5 billion euros to public spending that Macron's centrist government has pledged.

Nuclear-armed France has the second-largest military in the European Union by size after Britain.

French forces are engaged in military strikes against Islamic State jihadists in Syria and Iraq and 4,000 French soldiers are engaged in efforts to stop the spread of extremism in African countries including Mali, Burkina Faso and Chad.

French soldiers also patrol the streets of French cities under the state of emergency introduced after a series of terror attacks that have killed more than 230 people since 2015.