Macron to Launch Paid 10‑Month National Service to Bolster Reservists

President Emmanuel Macron is preparing to unveil a major overhaul of France’s national service: a voluntary, 10‑month programme that would pay participants up to €10,000 and aims to expand the pool of trained reservists.

What the plan would involve

Under the proposal, volunteers would be offered financial incentives and extended training to encourage longer-term commitments to the armed forces. Government sources say the scheme could train an initial cohort of 2,000–3,000 people in its first year, with a target of gradually recruiting as many as 50,000 reservists annually.

The measure would build on the short-form national service introduced in 2021 — two weeks of training followed by two weeks of civic work — which has seen limited uptake. Conscription in its previous compulsory form was abolished in 1997 as part of defence reforms.

Rationale and official statements

Officials say the programme is intended to strengthen France’s defence capacity and create a larger pool of potential reservists who could be mobilised in the event of a major crisis. President Macron has framed the measure as strengthening national resilience rather than reinstating a draft or preparing to send young people to foreign battlefields.

“If we want to protect ourselves, we French — which is my sole concern — we must demonstrate that we are not weak against the power that threatens us the most,” Macron said, while stressing the plan would remain voluntary and would not send recruits to Ukraine.

Military context and reactions

Senior military figures have warned of a deteriorating security environment. Chief of the Defence Staff Fabien Mandon said France must be ready to face a growing range of threats and has urged public awareness of the risks. French land army chief of staff General Pierre Schill argued that voluntary mobilisation could help the armed forces acquire the “mass” needed to endure a high‑intensity engagement.

France currently fields about 200,000 active military personnel and roughly 47,000 reservists; official projections expect those numbers to rise to around 210,000 active members and 80,000 reservists by 2030. The government points to similar moves elsewhere in Europe — including in the Baltic states and changes in Denmark and Germany — as part of a broader trend to strengthen national defence capacity.

Strategic outlook

France’s National Strategic Review for 2025 warns of the possibility of a major, high‑intensity engagement in Europe’s neighbourhood between 2027 and 2030, alongside a projected rise in hybrid attacks on national territory. Officials say the new national service is designed to bolster deterrence and preparedness in that context.

Ahead of the formal announcement, authorities have emphasised that participation will be voluntary, that recruits will not be deployed abroad as part of this policy, and that the aim is to reinforce national defence and resilience rather than to reinstate compulsory conscription.