Emmanuel Macron announced the creation of a voluntary national military service, limited to ten months and open to young adults. This measure addresses geopolitical threats from the war in Ukraine and risks to NATO. It signals a partial return to citizen engagement following the 1997 suspension of conscription.
On November 27, in Varces-Allières-et-Risset in the Isère region, President Emmanuel Macron unveiled a new national defense initiative. This national service, described as « purely military », targets adult volunteers for a ten-month period confined to French territory. It comes over 25 years after Jacques Chirac's 1997 decision to suspend conscription, amid a post-Cold War landscape.
The Russian invasion of Ukraine and fears of the conflict spreading to NATO members are prompting France to boost citizen involvement, following other European countries. Macron frames this as a democratic counter to Vladimir Putin's aggression and a show of solidarity with neighboring states. It also aims to educate a public long detached from these issues on Europe's evolving security reality.
To calm concerns, the president emphasized the service's national scope, responding to comments by armed forces chief of staff Fabien Mandon about the need to accept potential casualties. Yet challenges remain: adapting to military requirements, selecting from thousands of applicants – the army already draws 90,000 candidates annually per a 2024 study by political scientist Anne Muxel – and linking with existing efforts like defense classes or citizenship defense days.
The plan echoes Macron's earlier universal national service, scrapped due to unclear goals and high costs. Beyond political maneuvering for a beleaguered president, it highlights the state's duty to foster collective awareness amid ambiguities in the U.S. « peace plan » for Ukraine.