President Macron faced the first test of his authority today when the chief of the French armed forces resigned after a bitter row with him over spending cuts.
General Pierre de Villiers, 61, wrote: “In the current circumstances I see myself as no longer able to guarantee the robust defence force that I believe is necessary to guarantee the protection of France and the French people . . . and to sustain the aims of our country.”
The general’s departure was not a surprise since Mr Macron subjected him to a public dressing-down last week over his objections to an €850 million cut imposed on the defence ministry this month. The measure is part of an operation to fill a €4.5 billion hole in the 2017 national budget that was left by the Hollande administration.
Mr Macron’s tough handling of the general has brought opposition charges of arrogance and caused unease in the president’s own centrist camp. Jean-Yves Le Drian, Mr Macron’s foreign minister and long-serving former defence minister, appeared to side with General de Villiers, today, calling him a “great soldier of great integrity and great intelligence”. Mr Le Drian wondered whether “some ambiguity” had caused his departure.
Marine Le Pen, leader of the far-right National Front, said the row with the general was “the first serious error” by Mr Macron, her rival in the run-off vote for the presidency in May. “He has a little problem with ego and pride that he has to handle,” she said. “Damaging the means of protecting the French people is serious and will doubtless carry heavy consequences,” she added.
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Mr Macron, 39, decided to make a public display of his authority as commander-in-chief when he reprimanded the general in front of the senior military staff on Bastille Day last week. The military were breaching their duty by making “undignified” public comments on policy, Mr Macron told them in a speech. “I have made commitments, I am your boss,” he stated.
The president was angered by remarks made by General de Villiers that leaked from a closed-door session of the parliamentary defence committee. Saying that the military cuts were impossible to fulfil, he told the committee: “I am not going to let myself be screwed like this.”
General de Villiers stood ramrod straight and silent beside Mr Macron as they drove up the Champs-Élysées in an open military command car to review troops on Friday, and then he wrote on Facebook that night: “Since everyone has shortcomings, no one deserves to be followed blindly”. He was ostensibly musing on the nature of military command, but the message to the young president was clear.
Mr Macron followed up on Sunday, repeating that he commanded the forces and that “if the chief of the general staff disagrees with the president, he is changed.”
Retired generals have complained in the media that Mr Macron has humiliated the armed forces. Serving commanders have made known their anger. They note that the new president has used the military repeatedly in stage-managed appearances to enhance his image of power. He has had himself winched in naval clothing from a nuclear submarine to a hovering helicopter, he has visited troops fighting in Africa and chose am open military command car rather than the traditional limousine for the drive central Paris on the day of his investiture.
