France’s head of the armed forces resigned on Wednesday after a heated dispute with Emmanuel Macron over defence budget cuts, bringing to a head an early test of the newly elected president’s mettle. The row between Macron and General Pierre de Villiers erupted 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 (USD 980 million) from this year’s defence budget. PARIS: France 's head of the armed forces Pierre de Villiers has resigned, a statement from his office said, days after a public dispute with President Emmanuel Macron over proposed defence budget cuts.In the statement, de Villiers said he had sought to maintain a French defence force able to do an increasingly difficult job within the financial constraints imposed on it.
Pierre de Villiers resigns as the Chief of the Defence Staff of the French Armed Forces due to disagreements with President Emmanuel Macron over proposed budget cuts.