PARIS – In a strategic move to reinforce France’s military capabilities amid escalating tensions in Europe, President Emmanuel Macron is set to introduce a new national military service initiative this Thursday. This comes as a response to the increasing security challenges posed by Russia beyond its ongoing conflict with Ukraine.
During his visit to the Varces military base in the French Alps, President Macron is expected to emphasize the necessity of preparing the nation to face these rising threats, as confirmed by his office.
Earlier this year, Macron proposed a voluntary military service program aimed at engaging the country’s youth. This initiative marks a shift from the practice of conscription, which was discontinued in France in 1996.
Highlighting the urgency of strengthening France’s defense mechanisms, Macron pointed to the risks Europe faces due to the Russian aggression in Ukraine.
“If we convey a message of weakness to Russia, which has spent the last decade pursuing an agenda of imperial expansion by exploiting our vulnerabilities, it will only continue to advance,” Macron warned in an interview with RTL radio on Tuesday.
In a bid to enhance military readiness, Macron has pledged an additional 6.5 billion euros (approximately $7.6 billion) to be allocated to defense spending over the next two years.
He said France will aim to spend 64 billion euros in annual defense spending in 2027, the last year of his second term. That would be double the 32 billion euros in annual spending when he became president in 2017.
France’s military currently comprises around 200,000 active personnel and over 40,000 reservists, making it the second largest in the European Union, just behind Poland. France wants to increase the number of reservists to 100,000 by 2030.
France’s new army chief of staff, Gen. Fabien Mandon, last week sent a warning about the nation’s need to get prepared to “lose its children” in the event of a potential conflict with Russia – words that prompted an outcry across the political spectrum.
Russia annexed 20% of Georgia’s territory in 2008, Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula in 2014 and launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Gen. Mandon said.
“Unfortunately, Russia today, based on the information I have access to, is preparing for a confrontation with our countries by 2030. It is organizing itself for this, it is preparing for this, and it is convinced that its existential enemy is NATO,” he said.
Macron made clear the national military service volunteers would not be sent to the front line.
“We must, in any case, immediately dispel any confusion that we are going to send our young people to Ukraine,” Macron said Tuesday. “That’s not at all what this is about.”
France is not the only European nation bolstering its military capabilities.
Germany is redoubling its efforts to attract more recruits, notably via a new voluntary military service. The plan remains to be approved by parliament.
Belgium’s defense minister sent a letter this month to 17-year-olds to encourage them to sign up for a military service next year, with the aim to select 500 candidates between 18 and 25 to launch the program in September.
Poland has recently started rolling out a new voluntary military training program and aims to train 100,000 volunteers per year from 2027 as it seeks to build an army of reservists with worries about Russia growing. It isn’t considering a return to universal military service, but rather a reserve system.
Ten EU countries have compulsory military service: Austria, Cyprus, Croatia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Greece, Latvia, Lithuania, and Sweden. Norway, which is not a member, has mandatory military service for both men and women. The length of service ranges from as little as two months in Croatia to up to 19 months in Norway.
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