General Francois Lecointre has been appointed the new head of the French army.
General Lecointre has been appointed as new French Army's Chief of Defense Staff. pic.twitter.com/hJxCvee9AV- Harry Boone (@towersight) July 19, 2017
He replaces General Pierre de Villiers who resigned over planned budget cuts.
Lecointre is a career military officer with a distinguished RECORD having led the French mission in Mali and served in Sarajevo during the Balkan wars in the 1990s
Christophe Castaner is the French government spokesperson:"General Lecointre is a hero, a renowned hero in the army, a hero who knows how to fight, who freed French soldiers especially in 1995 during the war in Bosnia-Herzegovina where our armed forces were mobilised."
The outgoing head General Pierre de Villiers said he could no longer maintain "the durability of the army model."
Macron comes under fire after French army chief resigns https://t.co/NKWWl7DTro pic.twitter.com/rz2kxoQX0F- The Local France (@TheLocalFrance) July 19, 2017
De Villiers is said to be furious about the EUR850m cuts to the force for 2017.
Adopting a colourful tone the officer informed a parliamentary committee that they should heed his stance.
French Armed Forces chief quits in row over budget cuts with #Macron https://t.co/3eQeCUO3LK #army #FrenchArmy pic.twitter.com/ZsDOUB0o0F- Sputnik (@SputnikInt) July 19, 2017
The 60-year-old was appointed head of the army in 2014 by previous president Francois Hollande.
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