Insta
France To Bring Back Mandatory National Service For All 16-Year Olds Amid Popular Support
People at a rally in France celebrating Macron’s victory in polls. (David Ramos/Getty Images)
The French President Emmanuel Macron yesterday (28 June) announced that the country is bringing mandatory national service for all 16-year olds, after having disbanded compulsory military service over 20 years ago, CNN has reported.
Every French citizen will have to serve in the program, called the Universal National Service, when he or she attains 16 years of age.
The program will consist of two parts, for the first month, the participants will have to live together to "develop a culture of commitment to strengthen their place and role in society."
The second part will entail a voluntary commitment of three months, where the participants will be asked to choose from services like, national security and defence, or civil services like preservation of national monuments and environment, fire service etc.
The program will "encourage the participation and commitment of every young person in the life of the nation, to value citizenship and the feeling of belonging to a community gathered around its values, to strengthen social cohesion and boost the republican melting pot,” a statement from the presidential house read.
The measure enjoys popular support amongst the French public with a February 2018 poll having showed that 60 per cent of the people supported a compulsory national service of between three and six months.
The program will reportedly start at the beginning of 2019 school year.
Introducing ElectionsHQ + 50 Ground Reports Project
The 2024 elections might seem easy to guess, but there are some important questions that shouldn't be missed.
Do freebies still sway voters? Do people prioritise infrastructure when voting? How will Punjab vote?
The answers to these questions provide great insights into where we, as a country, are headed in the years to come.
Swarajya is starting a project with an aim to do 50 solid ground stories and a smart commentary service on WhatsApp, a one-of-a-kind. We'd love your support during this election season.
Click below to contribute.
Latest
