In a statement, Pierre de Villiers said he no longer felt able to command the type of army "that I think is necessary to guarantee the protection of France and the French people".
The military chief clashed with Mr Macron last week after telling a parliamentary committee he would not allow the armed forces to be "screwed" by €850m (£752m) worth of planned cuts.
He said: "I may be stupid, but I know when I'm being had".
Gen de Villiers later posted a statement on Facebook in which he did not name Mr Macron but said "no-one deserves to be blindly followed".
On Friday, the President responded by telling military leaders: "I am your leader".
"For me it is undignified to wash dirty linen in public," he said in a public address. "I need no pressure, no comment."
In a newspaper interview, Mr Macron added that if there was a difference of opinion "it is the chief of the defence staff who will change his position".
The President's plans for military cutbacks have been criticised by opponents and even some in his own party.
Jean-Jacques Bridey, a Macron ally and chairman of the parliamentary committee on defence, said he regretted the policy "while our men risk their lives every day".
Meanwhile, National Front vice president Florian Philippot said the proposals were as "irresponsible as they were incomprehensible".
No comments:
Post a Comment