Macron says France to restore voluntary military service

Varces Alli res et Risset, France: France will introduce a voluntary military service of 10 months beginning next summer, President Emmanuel Macron sa...

Varces-Allières-et-Risset, France: France will introduce a voluntary military service of 10 months beginning next summer, President Emmanuel Macron said Thursday, in the face of what he called a growing threat posed by Russia.

The announcement comes more than three-and-a-half years into Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, with Macron and other French officials warning that Moscow risks not stopping at Ukraine's borders.

“A new national service will be introduced, gradually starting next summer,” he said during a speech to troops in Varces-Allieres-et-Risset in southeastern France, almost three decades after France scrapped conscription.

But he said volunteers, mostly aged 18 to 19, would be deployed “only on national soil”.

“In the event of a major crisis, parliament may authorize calling upon individuals beyond just volunteers,” Macron added, and military “service would become mandatory.”