France resumes limited military service next year with 3,000 volunteers

France is set to reintroduce a limited form of military service in response to growing concerns about confrontation with Russia.

The program will see young men and women voluntarily participate in 10 months of paid military training, more than 25 years after the draft was phased out.

“The only way to avoid danger is to be prepared,” French President Emmanuel Macron said as he announced the plan at an infantry base near Grenoble in southeastern France. “We need to mobilize, to mobilize the whole country to defend ourselves, to be prepared and to remain respected.”

The new “national service” will be gradually introduced from next summer, mainly for 18 and 19-year-olds, who will receive at least 800 euros (£700) a month.

“In this uncertain world where power has triumphed over the right, war is the present tense,” Macron said, adding that the armed forces would benefit from motivated young French men and women: “This is an act of trust in our young people.”

Initially, the number will be limited to 3,000 next year, but this should increase to 50,000 by 2035.

France currently has approximately 200,000 military personnel and 47,000 reservists. The new program should introduce a three-tier structure including professionals, reservists and volunteers.

The change brings France into line with other European countries that have introduced military service plans, with varying parameters, over fears of Russian aggression.

Belgium and the Netherlands have voluntary military service, and Germany is planning something similar.

Just this month, the Belgian Ministry of Defense sent a letter to 17-year-olds inviting them to volunteer for around €2,000 (£1,750) a month.

Further east, Lithuania and Latvia have compulsory programs in which trainees are selected by lottery. Sweden, which recently joined NATO, has introduced military service that lasts from 9 to 15 months and is selective in its recruitment.

Some European countries, such as Finland and Greece, have never stopped military service, while Switzerland will vote on Sunday to replace compulsory military service for men with universal citizenship.

Other countries, including the UK and Spain, have no current plans to reintroduce it.

French military leaders generally support the new measure, which they hope will create a pool of trained personnel capable of supporting professional soldiers and replacing them in non-frontline duties.

We also hope that many volunteers will stay and go on to full military careers.

“The new military service takes us in the direction of hybridization of the armed forces,” said Thomas Garsilud, chairman of the National Assembly’s defense committee. “We have gone too far in the direction of full professionalization.”

The imminent (albeit unclear) threat of a confrontation with Russia has become part of France’s national discourse. The government often sounds the alarm about little-known incidents or attempts by Moscow to stir up public opinion through social media.

Recently, the newly appointed chief of the general staff, General Fabien Manton, raised the alarm to a new level when he said that France’s military planning was built around the assumption of a confrontation with Russia within the next three or four years.

Last week he went a step further, telling a gathering of mayors that what France lacked was a spirit of sacrifice, urging them to prepare for the possibility of “losing children” in war.

The comments were immediately condemned by the far left and parts of the far right, and were dismissed by the government as unhelpful, with Macron assuring the country over the weekend that there were no plans to send young recruits to fight in Ukraine.

Opinion polls show that the public overwhelmingly supports voluntary military service. An Elabe survey this week found 73 percent support for the measure. Support is lowest among young people aged 25-34, but even in this age group 60% support it.

A similar picture emerged in a random BBC poll conducted on the streets of Paris.

“It’s a good thing,” said Louis, a 22-year-old student. “It helps expand the military, but it’s also a way to love your country more.”

Another student, Aylan, said: “When you serve in the military, you meet people from all over the world. You learn new ways of looking at things… You learn to talk, trust and coexist with others.”

“From what I’ve read in the newspapers, our military isn’t that strong – so if we have to prepare for the future, maybe it’s a good idea,” said set designer Brigitte.

But Lally, a 21-year-old shop assistant, disagrees: “I think there are more important issues. Unfortunately, the president is not really interested in young people – their mental health, their financial situation. Instead, the focus is on military service.”

In 1996, then-President Jacques Chirac decided to end military service as part of the peace dividend brought about by the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Compulsory military training for young people has been part of national life since the French Revolution, which created the concept of the citizen soldier.

The 1798 law establishing conscription read: “Every Frenchman is a soldier, bound to defend his fatherland.” After the defeat by Prussia in 1871, Republican leader Léon Gambetta said: “In France, when a citizen is born, he is born a soldier.”

The Algerian War of Independence was the last conflict fought by French conscripts and resulted in the deaths of more than 12,000 people.

By the 1990s, service time was reduced to 10 months, with the option of civilian employment.

Since the last conscripts died in 2001, there have been vague attempts to preserve some of the spirit of military service, which supporters say fosters a sense of cohesion and equality.

Lycée (high school) students are still required to attend Defense and Citizenship Day, where they will receive lectures on their rights and responsibilities and participate in a flag-raising ceremony.

During his first term, Macron also established a universal national service program – a four-week course of civic responsibility and practical training – aimed at building national unity after the terror attacks of the 2010s. But the plan was criticized as an expensive and unattended form of holiday camp and was abandoned earlier this year.

While the new plan appears to be well-received, questions remain about how it will be funded – with a debt crisis gripping the country and parliament still unable to approve a 2026 budget.