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Last Updated: Jul 2nd, 2008 - 00:09:51 |
PARIS (Reuters) - France's army chief of staff resigned on Tuesday after a soldier fired live ammunition instead of blanks at a weekend military show and injured 17 people, the presidential office said.
President Nicolas Sarkozy had pledged to react rapidly and severely following the incident during a military show by the Third Marine Parachute regiment, open to the public in the southern French town of Carcassonne.
The resignation of General Bruno Cuche comes as France, which took over the rotating presidency of the European Union on Tuesday, looks to revamp its armed forces by slashing staff numbers and trying to ensure soldiers in the field are better equipped.
"The President, the head of the armies, has accepted the resignation presented by army General Bruno Cuche, head of the land army," said a statement from Sarkozy's office.
Sarkozy expected the armed forces "to draw every consequence with regards to the way they are organized and function," the statement said.
Cuche answers to a higher-ranking officer in charge of the overall armed forces while Sarkozy is the ultimate head of the French military.
The incident highlighted serious breaches in the use of arms and security during demonstrations at public military events, Defense Minister Herve Morin said in a separate statement.
As a precaution, the defense ministry was suspending the use of blanks during open or public demonstrations, Morin said.
DISCONTENT
Speaking later to RTL radio, Morin said Cuche had alluded to such a resignation while traveling to meet the victims of the incident on Sunday, mostly members of the public including a 3-year-old boy.
"As the head of the (land) army charged with the preparation and training of forces, he was the highest authority," said Morin.
The boy was hit in the heart and in the arm as the crowd watched soldiers simulate an attack. His condition had stabilized after doctors operated on him.
The soldier who fired the shots was taken in for questioning and was due to appear before a judge, who would consider the public prosecutor's request that the soldier be placed under formal investigation for "unintentional injuries".
French media reported that the soldier had been placed under formal investigation.
The French media has reported on low morale in some quarters of the military fuelled by government plans to slash military staff numbers, mostly to the detriment of support functions, and to close or merge some military bases.
Some officers have spoken out anonymously against a military roadmap charting French defense strategy over the coming 15 years which Sarkozy unveiled on June 17 in the form of a government policy document.
For some in the army, plans to cut 54,000 mostly administrative and support posts over the coming six or seven years and the way Sarkozy has handled defense matters points to a downsizing in military capability and ambition.
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