Three decades after scrapping conscription, France unveils voluntary military service for youth

President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday announced that France will reinstate military service on a voluntary basis, citing the growing threat from Russia and the risk of a new conflict in Europe.

According to a France 24 report, almost three decades after France ended conscription, Macron unveiled the programme during a visit to an infantry brigade in southeastern France.

“A new national service is set to be gradually established, starting from next summer,” France 24  quoted Macron as saying in a speech at the Varces military base in the French Alps.

He added that young volunteers will serve only within France’s mainland and oversea territories, and will not be part of France’s ongoing military operations abroad.

According to the report, about 80% of participants will be aged 18 and 19, while the remainder will include candidates up to 25 with specialised skills such as engineering.

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Macron’s announcement comes more than three-and-a-half years into Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, with the French president and other officials warning that Moscow may not stop at Ukraine’s borders.

“The day that you send a signal of weakness to Russia — which for 10 years has made a strategic choice to become an imperial power again, that’s to say advance wherever we are weak — well, it will continue to advance,” the French president had told radio RTL on Tuesday.

No return of conscription

Macron said former President Jacques Chirac’s scrapping of obligatory national service in 1996, was correct, adding that conscription made no sense for France’s current needs.

“We cannot return to the time of conscription,” Reuters quoted Macron as saying.

“This hybrid army model corresponds to the threats and risks ahead, bringing together national service youth, reservists, and the active army,” he added.

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Prior to Macron’s announcement, his aides pointed to poll data suggesting high support for the armed forces among 18- to 25-year-olds.

France plans major defence boost

France aims to spend €64 billion annually on defence by 2027, President Emmanuel Macron said, double the €32 billion annual budget when he took office in 2017.

The country is not considering restoring conscription, which ended in 1996.

Last week, armed forces chief Fabien Mandon stirred controversy by warning France must be ready “to lose its children,” adding that Russia is “preparing for a confrontation by 2030 with our countries.”

While a dozen European states maintain some form of conscription, its use varies.

France’s new voluntary service aligns it with countries like Latvia and Lithuania, which have reintroduced service, while others, such as Denmark, have strengthened existing programmes.

Military service is intended to bolster the active forces and create a reserve pool for potential future conflicts.

France currently has about 200,000 active military personnel and 47,000 reservists, projected to rise to 210,000 and 100,000, respectively, by 2030.

Accused of warmongering, General Mandon defended his remarks, saying the goal was to “alert and prepare” amid a “rapidly deteriorating” security context. He added on Saturday that the strong reactions “show that this is something that was perhaps not sufficiently perceived in our population.”

Ahead of Macron’s announcement Thursday, officials sought to calm fears, with the president stating on Tuesday that he needed to dispel any notion “we are going to send our young people to Ukraine.”

With inputs from agencies