In France, the head of the armed forces has quit after a clash with President, Emmanuel Macron over budget cuts. In a statement, General Pierre de Villiers said, he could no longer guarantee the durability of the army model that he considered necessary to ensure France's protection.<br/><br/>The row between Macron and de Villiers erupted last week when the chief of staff told a parliamentary committee that he would not allow the armed forces to be screwed by the government's plans to slash 850 million euros from this year's defence budget.<br/><br/>Last week, France's government revealed major cuts to bring its budget deficit below the level of an EU cap. President Marcon named General Francois Lecointre, hero of the Balkans wars, as de Villiers's replacement.