Macron unveils new French voluntary military service

Varces: President Emmanuel Macron announced thousands of volunteers aged 18 and 19 will start serving in the military next year as he unveiled a new programme meant to bolster France’s armed forces to address growing concerns over Russia’s threat to European nations beyond the war in Ukraine.

Young volunteers will serve in uniform for 10 months in France’s mainland and oversea territories only, not in military operations abroad, Macron said in a speech at the Varces military base, which is located in the French Alps.

“A new national service is set to be gradually established, starting from next summer,” Macron said. “In this uncertain world where power prevails over law and war is an ever-present reality, our nation has no right to fear, panic, unpreparedness, or division.”

The programme will start with 3,000 youth to be selected next summer and gradually will increase to 10,000 per year by 2030. France has ambitions to reach up to 50,000 volunteers per year by 2035, a figure that will be adjusted depending on the global context, Macron added. Volunteers will hold military status and receive wages and equipment. After a one-month training, they will be assigned for nine months to a unit in which they will perform the same missions as active military personnel, he detailed. They will then join the military reserve and continue their education or start working.agencies