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French President Emmanuel Macron announced a new voluntary youth military service scheme to help France respond to “accelerating threats” around the world on Nov. 27.
The program, which is slated to begin next year, will be open to 18- and 19-year-olds of both sexes, who will be paid for their service, which will last 10 months, during which time they will receive training in weapons handling, marching, and field drills.
Those who join will be in the military for 10 months and only ever serve on French soil.
Some 3,000 people are expected to sign up in 2026, rising to 10,000 by 2030.
“My ambition for France is to reach 50,000 young people by 2036, depending on evolving threats,” Macron said.
After the program, participants could integrate into civilian life, become a reservist, or stay in the armed forces, he said.
It is expected to cost around 2 billion euros ($2.32 billion), which Macron called “a significant and necessary effort.”
“This national service program is modeled on the practices of our European partners,” he said during a speech at the 27th Mountain Infantry Brigade in Varces, in the French Alps.
“At a time when all our European allies are moving forward in the face of a threat that weighs on us all, France cannot remain inactive.”
Macron added that former President Jacques Chirac was right to abolish compulsory national service in 1996, saying conscription made no sense for France’s current needs.
“We cannot return to the era of conscription,” Macron said. “A hybrid army model will indeed emerge, one that corresponds to the threats and risks we face, bringing together young people from national service, reservists, and the active army.”
His announcement brings France in line with numerous other European nations that have similar schemes in action or development.
Germany is boosting its efforts to attract more recruits, notably via a new voluntary military service; however, the plan remains to be approved by the Bundestag.
Earlier this month, Belgium’s defense minister sent letters to the nation’s 17-year-olds urging them to sign up for military service, with hopes of selecting 500 candidates between 18 and 25 to launch the program in September 2026.
Poland has also begun a new voluntary military training program, which aims to train 100,000 volunteers a year from 2027. The move is part of Warsaw’s plans to establish an army of reservists.
Of the European Union’s 27 member states, nine EU countries have compulsory military service: Austria, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Greece, Latvia, Lithuania, and Sweden, while Croatia has announced its reintroduction for next year.
Macron’s announcement comes after the chief of France’s armed forces caused a national outcry by saying the country must “accept losing its children.”
At a speech to the Congress of French Mayors on Nov. 18, General Fabien Mandon said the armed forces were “an integral part of the nation,” pointing out that the women and men currently deployed in the field around the world are between 18 and 27 years old.
“They are young, they come from your communities, they share the same aspirations, and they will persevere in their mission if they feel the country stands with them,” he said.
“If our country falters because it is not ready to accept the loss of its children, because, let’s be honest, it must accept economic hardship because priorities will shift to defense production, for example, if we are not prepared for that, then we are at risk.”
The remarks sparked an outpouring of criticism from both the French left and right.
Jean-Luc Mélenchon of the left-wing France Unbowed party said that he was in “complete disagreement” with Mandon.
“It is not his place to invite mayors or anyone else to participate in war preparations decided by no one: not the President, not the government, not Parliament,” he wrote on X. “Nor is it his place to anticipate sacrifices that would result from our diplomatic failures, on which his public opinion has not been sought! Where is President Macron? Why is he allowing this?”
“One must be prepared to die for one’s country,” Louis Aliot, deputy leader of the right-wing National Rally, told SudRadio, “but the war being waged must be just, or understood, or the necessity must dictate that the very survival of the nation is at stake.”
“I don’t think there are many French people who are ready to go and die for Ukraine,” he added.
Macron, meanwhile, dispelled that notion, telling RTL radio on Tuesday that “We must absolutely, immediately, dispel any confused idea suggesting we are going to send our young people to Ukraine.”
Reuters and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
