Emmanuel Macron to Unveil New National Military Service Plan

Wed Nov 26 2025 04:44:37 GMT+0200 (Eastern European Standard Time)

President Macron announces a voluntary military service initiative aimed at increasing France's armed forces while addressing youth engagement and national defense concerns.

French President Emmanuel Macron is set to reveal a new national service plan that aims to boost the French military's numbers without conscription. The proposal, which is reportedly voluntary and lasts for 10 months, seeks to engage the youth while alleviating fears that it would involve deployment to Ukraine. Macron emphasizes the importance of demonstrating strength against external threats, particularly from Russia. This plan follows growing European concerns about military readiness amid increased tensions on the continent.

President Emmanuel Macron said he will announce a new military service aimed at boosting French army numbers later this week.

Details are scant, but according to French media, the scheme would be voluntary, remunerated, and last 10 months.

In an interview with local media, he sought to reassure French people that the plan did not mean young people would be sent to fight in Ukraine.

We really need to, right now, dispel any misconception that we're going to send our young people to Ukraine, he said. That's not at all what this is about.

However, Macron stated the new framework was meant to address the desire for service among the youth - and to face the hybrid confrontation waged by Russia.

If we French want to protect ourselves... we must show that we are not weak in the face of one power that threatens us the most, he added.

No official details on the new military service have yet been shared, though it is expected Macron will elaborate on the proposal during a visit to an army base on Thursday.

French media reports indicate that the revamped voluntary military service could last 10 months, with volunteers paid between €900 (£790) and €1000 (£880) per month.

Conscription in France was scrapped in 1996. The current iteration of the national service, the Service national universel (SNU), only includes two weeks of training followed by another two weeks of community work. Introduced in 2019, it has not gained much traction.

Raphaël Glucksmann of the centre-left Place Publique party expressed support for the proposal but suggested it should be a universal and compulsory service—not necessarily military—to foster national cohesion. Similarly, National Rally (RN)'s Sébastien Chenu called for a mandatory three-month military service for both boys and girls.

Last week, France's army chief-of-staff General Fabien Mandon raised eyebrows by stating that France's biggest weakness was its lack of will to fight, warning that the country risked losing its children in a potential conflict with Russia.

Macron recently voiced alarm about what he termed a turning point in history, urging France and Europe to be prepared if the US were no longer an ally.

Since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, various European nations have reinstated forms of military service; Germany plans to mandate all 18-year-old men to complete a questionnaire regarding military service capabilities from next year, while countries like Latvia and Sweden have also resumed military conscription.