- France plans to set up a military service on the basis of volunteering.
- The objective? “Strengthen national cohesion”, while many international threats are watching.
- Today, the French armies have around 200,000 active soldiers and 47,000 reservists.
A seriously envisaged track. While French troops marched this Monday, July 14 on the Champs-Élysées on Monday, July 14, in Paris, Emmanuel Macron leaves the door open to the upcoming establishment of a voluntary military service. Sunday, the President of the Republic spoke of the need for “efforts
” to bring “on our reserve
“soldiers.”We need a nation capable of holding, of being mobilized
“, he insisted, while Europe is”endanger
“, among other things by the inclinations of Russia, east of the continent.
According to him, this context therefore requires “Give youth a new framework to serve, in other ways, in our armies
“. The head of state should share his decision on the subject”in the fall
“. Published on the occasion of July 14, the Strategic National Review, a series of analyzes directly commissioned by Emmanuel Macron, insists in the same spirit on the hypothesis of”Military service
renovated volunteer
“. According to this document, this solution would allow”Major French people to receive military training
“While”that can lead to a commitment
“.
“A mass” soldiers to “acquire”
For the army, the interest of such a device is multiple. Emmanuel Macron has just announced a substantial budgetary effort for the French defense. However, new troops are also necessary to ensure the security of the country in the coming decades. The accounting objective is clear: the workforce must climb 200,000 active soldiers and 47,000 reservists approximately to 210,000 and 80,000 people by 2030. Mobilization on the basis of volunteering of a certain age group could therefore contribute to bail out French ranks in the event of war.
A means, in short, of “acquire the mass
“Necessary to last for a long time in the event of armed conflict, according to the expression of the chief of staff of the Army, General Pierre Schill.”One of the lessons of [la guerre en] Ukraine is that it is the armies that win the fighting, but it is
nations that win wars
“, Underlines the military leader. For him, the French army should in the future combine professionals, reservists and volunteers carrying out their voluntary military service. This new executive would also be a way of opening” according to him “One of the reserve taps
“, by arousing the desire to commit to young people.
The “laborious” example of the SNU
Is this solution credible? Today, a voluntary military service (SMV) has already existed in fact since 2015. But its framework is very different: it is in this case a training and professional integration system with military supervision. This is now chosen by approximately 1000 people per year. The project of a voluntary military service “renovated”
would target much wider, promoting the idea of “strengthen national cohesion
“and”Create a tank of mobilizable people in the event of a crisis
“, Details the Strategic National Review.
However, not all experts agree on the relevance of such a measure. “”If the objective is social and national cohesion, I think we are on the wrong track
“, thus points to the sociologist Bénédicte Chéron, specialist in the army-nation link, with AFP.”A military service, even when he massively mobilizes each age class, does not influence major social and political trends that are at work in a society.
“
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The researcher also evokes the example of the universal national service (SNU), initiated by Emmanuel Macron, but who has experienced difficulties in finding her audience. This civil service, intended for 15-17 year olds, had the ambition of “arouse volunteer
“Among the young people, continues Bénédicte Chéron. Or,”It was laboriously, and it was only for two weeks
“Internship,” she adds.
