France to introduce voluntary military service amid threat from Russia | France

As concerns about the threat from Russia grow in Europe, France will introduce 10-month voluntary military service, mainly for young people aged 18 and 19.

The service will start in mid-2026 and will help France respond to “accelerating threats” on the global stage, French President Emmanuel Macron said in a speech to troops in Varces-Allières-et-Risset in the French Alps.

Almost 30 years after France abolished conscription, Macron said he would not reverse that decision but added: “We need mobilization.”

“France cannot remain idle,” Macron said. He said he believed French youth were “thirsty for engagement” and that there was a generation of young people “ready to stand up” for their nation.

Under the new military service, men and women, mostly 18 and 19 years old, can voluntarily enlist for 10 months. They will be paid at least €800 (£700) a month and will receive a 75% discount on rail travel as well as food and accommodation. Macron said they would be deployed “only on national territory.” A minority with certain qualifications, such as engineering or medical skills, may be up to 25 years old.

So far there is no suggestion that military service in France could become compulsory again, as it was before then-president Jacques Chirac abolished conscription in 1997.

“We cannot return to the time of compulsory military service,” Macron said. “This hybrid army model corresponds to the threats and risks ahead and brings together national service youth, reserves and active army.”

The plan will cost 2 billion euros, which Macron called “an important and necessary effort”.

The plan aims to bring in 3,000 volunteers in 2026, and for this number to increase to 10,000 in 2030. “My goal for France is to reach 50,000 young people by 2036, depending on evolving threats,” Macron said. After the program, participants can integrate into civilian life, become reservists or remain in the armed forces, he said.

He said the plan was “inspired by the practices of our European partners … at a time when all our European allies are advancing in response to a threat that weighs on us all.”

The move is part of a broader shift across Europe, where nations that have long enjoyed the decades-long tranquility of U.S. security guarantees are worried about Donald Trump’s shifting priorities and Russia’s aggressive posture.

Macron’s announcement puts France on par with nearly a dozen other European countries, such as Germany and Denmark, that have launched similar projects.

Military service is seen as a way to supplement armies with new recruits, but also as a way to provide a large pool of potential replacement personnel that can be called upon in the event of a future war.

There are approximately 200,000 active military personnel and 47,000 reserve personnel in the French armed forces; the numbers are expected to rise to 210,000 and 80,000 respectively by 2030.

Macron’s office said survey data showed high support for the armed forces among young people aged 18 to 25.

The president’s announcement follows controversy over comments by France’s armed forces chief, General Fabien Mandon, who caused an uproar last week when he said France should brace itself for possible future losses to Russian aggression.

“What we lack… is the strength of character to accept suffering to preserve who we are,” he said, adding that France must “accept losing its children.”

Macron attempted to downplay Mandon’s comments.

“We must absolutely and immediately eliminate any confusing ideas that suggest we will send our young people to Ukraine,” Macron told RTL radio on Tuesday, referring to Russia’s full-scale invasion of the country in 2022.

Cédric Perrin, chairman of the French senate committee on foreign affairs, defense and armed forces, defended Mandon. “His words were taken out of context… but if it was necessary to be a little blunt to make the French understand the situation we were in, then he was right to do so,” Perrin told Reuters.

Clémence Guetté of the left-wing party La France Insoumise said on RTL radio about the new voluntary military service: “France is not at war and this cannot be the priority of young people.”

Sébastien Chenu, an MP from Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally Party, said the new voluntary military service was “going in the right direction”.

Reuters and Agence France-Presse contributed to this report.