The chief of the General Staff of France resigned after friction with Macron

[G.O.G]

France's chief of staff General Pierre de Villiers, in disagreement with the planned cuts in defense, resigned Wednesday, triggering a crisis in the presidency of Emmanuel Macron.

"In the present circumstances, I consider that I am no longer in a position to ensure the permanence of the army model in which I believe to guarantee the protection of France and the French, today and tomorrow and support the ambitions of our country," wrote the general of Villiers in a statement sent to AFP.

"Therefore, I assumed my responsibility by presenting, this day, my resignation to the President of the Republic, who accepted it," he added in the note.

The possible resignation of France's chief of staff, General Pierre de Villiers, had been stirring military circles for a few days after the 60-year-old five-star general had a crush on the young centrist 39 years.

The source of the conflict is a leaked statement from the general who last week complained to deputies of the National Assembly's Defense Committee in harsh terms of Macron's cut of 850 million euros in the army's budget for 2017, Estimating that "it is not sustainable".

Having called on General de Villiers on 14 July before military leaders reminding him that he is the "boss", the French president reproached him, without naming him, for having publicly exposed this controversy in an "unworthy" way.

"If anything opposes the army chief of staff and the president, he is changed to the army chief of staff," Macron said in an interview published Sunday in the Journal du Dimanche.

The government plans to cut 850 million euros in military spending this year in a general context of budget cuts for 2017.

This cut is part of a projected decline of 4.5 billion euros in state spending in 2017 to meet its commitment to Brussels to limit France's deficit to 3% of GDP.