The French army chief of staff, Gen Bruno Cuche, has resigned two days after a soldier injured 17 people at a military show.
Gen Cuche offered his resignation on Tuesday to President Nicolas Sarkozy who accepted it.
The soldier used real bullets instead of blanks at the public demonstration at a barracks in south-western France.
Four people, including a child, were seriously injured in the incident. They are said to be out of danger.
On Monday, President Sarkozy, who visited the wounded in hospital, said he would seek explanations from the whole chain of command over the incident.
The shooting occurred during a public demonstration of hostage-freeing techniques at a barracks in Carcassonne, in the Aude region.
Earlier, Defence Minister Herve Morin called for "immediate sanctions... without waiting for the conclusions of the judicial and military enquiries".
The incident highlighted "grave deficiencies in the use of ammunition and in the security of public demonstrations held at regiments' open days", the defence ministry said in a statement.
(BBC)
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