Free Republic

In a statement, 60 year-old Pierre de Villiers said he had tried to keep the armed forces fit for an ever more difficult task within the financial constraints imposed on it, but was no longer able to sustain that. "In the current circumstances I see myself as no longer able to guarantee the robust defense force I believe is necessary to guarantee the protection of France and the French people, today and tomorrow, and to sustain the aims of our country," he said. ... As well as being an early test for Macron, the departure of France's most senior soldier...

Some time ago Elaine Ganley, Associated Press Writer, referred to the French politician Philippe de Villiers as “a presidential hopeful who opposes Muslim immigration” and as a “far-right politician.” She wrote, with thinly disguised contempt, that de Villiers “claimed” to “base his book, ‘The Mosques of Roissy,’ on intelligence reports,” while “many saw the book as a publicity grab.” his kind of coverage is typical. Philippe de Villiers is no more, and no less, "far right" than the late Democratic Senator Henry Jackson, or for that matter than the late Democratic Senator Hubert Humphrey, or William Proxmire, or any number...

Summary SNIP A new right-wing figure has come to the forefront as the popularity of Jean-Marie Le Pen, the surprise contender of the 2002 election, has begun to wane. De Villiers, leader of the Movement for France party, is the second serious contender who has emerged to challenge Sarkozy. De Villiers often uses his boisterous actions to express his disdain for the European Union and all things related, even commenting on the joy in using a national currency instead of a euro. He also is a firm advocate of the ideology that France's social misfortunes stem from lax immigration laws....