France's army chief resigns on defense spending cut

France's armed forces chief Pierre de Villiers resigned Wednesday, in a move to protest against President Emmanuel Macron's decision to trim defense budget spending.

"Under the current circumstances I see myself no longer able to guarantee the robust defense force I believe 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 in a statement.

"Therefore, I took my responsibility to present my resignation to the president, and he accepted it," he added.

At a parliamentary committee hearing last week, the 60-year-old top military official criticized the government's plan to cut defense ministry expenditure by 850 million euros (980.4 million U.S. dollars) this year in order to help the nation meet the deficit target of 3 percent.

On Friday, de Villiers wrote on his Facebook, "no one deserves to be blindly followed," referring to the French president.

As the row of his army bosses escalated, Macron rebuked, "I have made commitments, I am your chief. I don't need any comment."

Meanwhile General Francois Lecointre has been named the new chief of French armed forces, the government's spokesman Christophe Castaner announced Wednesday.

Lecointre, a member of Prime Minister Edouard Philippe's cabinet, replaced Pierre de Villiers who decided to quit office over a dispute on defense budget cut.

Lecointre will take "from tomorrow his responsibilities as chief of armed forces," Casataner said after a weekly cabinet meeting.