French military chief Pierre de Villiers resigns after clash with President Macron

The head of France's armed forces has resigned after clashing with President Emmanuel Macron over proposed budget cuts. 

In a statement, Pierre de Villiers said he no longer felt able to command the type of army "that I think is necessary to guarantee the protection of France and the French people".

The military chief clashed with Mr Macron last week after telling a parliamentary committee he would not allow the armed forces to be "screwed" by €850m (£752m) worth of planned cuts.

He said: "I may be stupid, but I know when I'm being had".

Gen de Villiers later posted a statement on Facebook in which he did not name Mr Macron but said "no-one deserves to be blindly followed".