On 27 November, the French President announced the creation of a voluntary national military service for young people aged 18 to 25. In today’s strategic environment, what made this decision necessary?

In my view, three factors underpin this decision. First, the need for our armed forces to strengthen our defences, together with the requirement for heightened vigilance across the national territory. Our strategic environment has deteriorated very rapidly, much faster than we had anticipated. This deterioration is broad and multifaceted, and it affects the daily lives of the French people. Across the wide range of missions entrusted to our armed forces, the contribution of young people undertaking military service will be valuable in several areas, for example, in responding to environmental challenges, addressing the persistent terrorist threat, and countering hybrid threats, including information manipulation, cyberattacks and risks of sabotage. 

The second factor is the willingness of the younger generation to serve their country. When I meet young people who are considering joining the armed forces, or who have already done so, I am always struck by their clarity of judgement and their sense of responsibility. They fully understand the challenges we face, and they want to do something meaningful and be part of something bigger than themselves. Many have therefore turned away from their original career plans to join the armed forces or other public services, in search of that sense of purpose. I believe we have a duty to offer those who wish to serve the opportunity to do so within a military framework. The third and final factor is the resilience of our country and our national cohesion, to which a military experience makes a very concrete contribution. The armed forces bring together young people from very different backgrounds, who start out as strangers but go on to share memorable experiences. National military service will help to instil a culture of defence in these young people through a shared collective experience. They will learn how to deal with demanding situations and develop a sense of solidarity that will remain with them for the rest of their lives. 

How will the military service be of benefit in practice?

Starting in September 2026, we will welcome 3,000 young people, rising to 4,000 the following year, with numbers gradually increasing to 50,000 by 2035. To ensure that national service benefits both young people and the armed forces, it will necessarily be selective. This is a deliberate choice on our part. Selection will be based on the motivation and skills of the volunteers, but above all on their ability to perform the tasks the armed forces have identified as useful to the country and to our defence. The armed forces have worked at length to identify the areas in which the contribution of these young people is genuinely needed. Every volunteer for national service will therefore be assigned a meaningful role with real responsibilities. No one who volunteers to serve in the armed forces will be confined to a secondary position. They will begin with an initial training period, during which they will learn a trade or skill, before being assigned to a unit in the Army, the Navy or the Air and Space Force. In all cases, they will perform useful duties on national territory. This is something I consider very important. At the end of their service, I want them to feel that they have learned something and made a genuine contribution.

The new military service is open to a broad age group, from 18 to 25. What will older volunteers –those who have already begun university studies or entered the workforce – bring, and in what ways will they be a particular asset to the armed forces?

There will indeed be several different profiles. The majority of volunteers – nearly 80% – will be between 18 and 19 years old. These are young people who have just finished school or are taking a gap year, and for many it will be their first significant experience. However, the programme is also open to older volunteers, up to the age of 25, and this is a very important point. Some will be young people who have chosen at a later stage to do something meaningful, while others may already have entered employment, or started an apprenticeship or a course of study that they could not interrupt earlier. They will therefore bring a high level of maturity and, in some cases, specific skills.

These profiles represent a particular asset for the armed forces, whether they have already qualified in technical trades or completed demanding studies, particularly in healthcare, engineering or technological fields. They will be especially well suited to positions involving a high level of responsibility. Cyber is a good example: it offers opportunities for both younger and more experienced volunteers, who can help develop specific capabilities for the armed forces. The objective is clear: to bring together talented individuals from across our society who want to do something worthwhile, and to enable them to put their skills to use in support of the nation’s defence.

The armed forces already recruit 27,000 young people each year through a range of programmes designed to facilitate their integration. How will the national military service differ from these existing schemes?

Until now, we did not have a programme that was truly open to all young people in this way. Of course, there were opportunities to join the armed forces, but they generally involved long-term commitments, going well beyond a simple gap year. With this national service, we are moving to a different scale and towards a new model — one in which I have great confidence.

It is above all based on our professional armed forces, which today are among the leading forces in Europe and likely the most effective on the continent. They remain the core foundation of our defence and underpin everything else. The second component is the reserve force, which will be strengthened under the defence spending law (LPM). With a current ratio of roughly one reservist for every two active service members, we are moving towards a model with 80,000 reservists.

The reserve already takes part in operational missions, bringing complementary skills and strengthening our overall effectiveness. The third pillar will be the young people undertaking national service, whose numbers will grow gradually over time. We are deliberately starting with relatively small intakes to ensure that new recruits are properly integrated and receive the supervision, training and equipment they need. Initially, we will rely on existing facilities before developing new ones.

But I would like to emphasise one key principle: there is only one military. While it is possible to serve in different ways and for different lengths of time, everyone shares the same mission and is subject to the same military statute and the same fundamental principle of fairness. These young people will not replace anything or anyone. They will complement a military model in which the armed forces remain fully engaged in defence missions, and they will play a full part in it.

How will this new national service differ from the military service of the past?

It will be completely different. First, today’s national military service is open to both sexes, whereas the former system was compulsory and applied only to men. The underlying logic has therefore fundamentally changed. Previously, the principle was one of universality: an entire age group was expected to serve, even if, in practice, this was not always fully applied. The new model, by contrast, is based on selection, and that changes everything, including for the armed forces. Taking in an entire age group would mean between 700,000 and 800,000 young people, which is absolutely not the model we have chosen. A selective system requires a completely different approach to supervision and training. In the past, we did not offer a tailored framework. Today, each unit that welcomes young volunteers will provide exactly that. They will be fully integrated into their units and assigned meaningful tasks. In the past, not everyone felt they were doing something worthwhile. There were powerful human experiences, of course, but also long periods of waiting during the Cold War. Today the situation is very different: the armed forces carry out many more active missions on national territory. Young people undertaking national military service will therefore be employed both in mainland and overseas France. The new service will be voluntary, and participants will be selected based on their motivation. In that respect, it clearly differs from the system of the past.

Will this national military service also help strengthen the bond between the armed forces and the French people, particularly in light of the lessons learned from the war in Ukraine?

Yes, I believe it will contribute to that effort, although it will not be the only factor. What we are putting in place already meets the expectations of some of our young citizens. They understand why it matters: we do not need to convince them, because they have already made the choice. This is a generation that is alert, aware and eager to be useful. A period of military service will help them grow as individuals, as members of a group and as part of the nation. The foundations are already there, and national military service will provide a framework for that commitment to develop. I saw this recently abroad, particularly when I met young conscripts in Sweden. They were extremely motivated, deeply committed and fully aware of their role in national defence. Some told me: “We have found a family; we feel useful.” Those who complete national military service in France will speak about it in society and will therefore contribute to national cohesion. That said, national military service will not be the only means of strengthening this bond, because the number of participants will represent only a small part of an entire age group. Resilience is collective; it concerns society as a whole. I would not want to suggest that the commitment of these young people alone will be enough. But it is undoubtedly something very positive. 

Some other European countries have reintroduced national military service. Have their experiences served as inspiration?

We have followed closely what is happening around us. And yes, you are right: more than a dozen European countries have reintroduced national military service, each with its own specific characteristics. But some strong common features emerge, notably the willingness among younger generations to serve and the importance of roles that are genuinely useful for defence. That is the shared foundation. I was particularly struck by what I saw in Norway and Sweden, where some young people are even concerned about not being selected.

In the Scandinavian countries, young people who have completed their military service are now highly regarded by employers. It is something that is widely valued in society. It signals simple but essential qualities: courage, determination, motivation and the ability to push oneself. The Norwegian and Swedish models have been a source of inspiration, particularly in the way they make military service part of a person’s life path. In the Nordic countries, national service, including military service, is often designed as a form of gap year.

This service is now highly valued, notably because it is based on selection. Young people are chosen according to the needs of the missions, which means that those who join the armed forces often bring strong qualifications in their respective fields. It is an interesting approach: a demanding, useful and recognised form of national service that is fully integrated into a person’s life trajectory.

Is the new national military service a structuring reform, one designed to last?

It is a rapid but very concrete reform, intended for long-term implementation. It is already taking shape: we are seeing strong interest from 17- and 18-year-olds, and there are many volunteers. I am therefore very confident. Every young person who is interested should apply. They should not assume from the outset that they will not be selected. We are not looking for top performers, but for motivated young people with strong personal qualities and an interest in defence. Many will be 18 and will not yet have developed professional skills, but they will bring enthusiasm, sometimes abilities acquired elsewhere, and above all a strong desire to contribute.

This reform is also part of a long-term vision for France’s military, in which the professional armed forces, the reserve force and young volunteers form a coherent and complementary whole, supporting one another and strengthening our collective capability. The system will naturally require adjustments, because it represents a new model for our armed forces. I saw this clearly in Sweden, where young conscripts were operating complex systems – including artillery and combat aircraft – with a high degree of autonomy, under appropriate supervision. They were not senior personnel, but young people with strong qualities, selected, trained and trusted with real responsibility.

This represents a genuine cultural shift: learning to trust and to delegate more responsibility, rather than confining these young people to purely routine tasks. That is the maturity we must gradually develop. Above all, we must avoid being too rigid: we will need to adapt the model as circumstances evolve and as we gain experience moving forward.