Duration, salary… Details of the new national service

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Military service for young adult volunteers who will be trained in the use of weapons. Objective: to strengthen the French army from next year. “In this uncertain world where force prevails over right, our nation has no right to fear, panic or unpreparedness”declared Emmanuel Macron.

So, are young people ready to become soldiers for a period of service? We asked the question this morning to Parisian students. “I would like to do it because the sporting aspects mean a lot to me,” says one of them. “I admit that no. I have other plans in life”confides another. “If there was a compulsory one, I would go without too much reluctance, because if everyone goes, we still have to support each other and create unity. But otherwise, voluntary, I don’t know if I would go”explains another student.

Concretely, the new national service is mainly aimed at young adults aged 18 or 19, who will have to commit for ten months and for a minimum monthly salary of 800 euros, with food and accommodation. The system will replace the Universal National Service launched by Emmanuel Macron in 2017. But this time, it will indeed be a military service. Enough to bring back some memories to former conscripts met in Amiens (Somme). “I gave 19 months of my youth for my country. It allows us to see the general interest, to not only see its problem”says one of them. “It should be for everyone, not just on a voluntary basis”believes another.

The president is counting on 3,000 young people being hired next year to carry out missions in France, such as Operation Sentinel rounds, for example. On the other hand, no external operations abroad.