"The French government launched a nationwide recruitment campaign on Monday aimed at enrolling thousands of young people into a new 10-month voluntary national military service, with the first participants expected to begin their service in September 2026. Armed Forces Minister Catherine Vautrin announced the campaign alongside senior military officials on Monday, saying applications for the first intake would be accepted until April, with decisions communicated by July 1, 2026. "We will select 3,000 young men and women, aged 18 to 25 at the time of their enlistment," Vautrin said, urging anyone interested to apply immediately as selection will be done on a rolling basis. "They will start their service, an important date to remember, between September and November 2026 for a duration of ten months on the national territory," she added. Chief-of-staff Gen Fabien Mandon, who has previously stated that France ‘lacks the spirit of sacrifice’, said that the programme would play a role in improving national defence readiness. "These young people will naturally strengthen the defence and resilience of our country," he said, adding that instilling this attitude among young people will 'go far beyond' the year that they serve in the programme. "They will learn what defence is, they will have a foundation in defence, they will even participate in useful missions,” Mandon said. Meanwhile, Vautrin stressed that the programme does not amount to compulsory service, saying that any move toward broader mobilisation would require parliamentary approval and would only occur under exceptional circumstances. The programme, unveiled by President Emmanuel Macron in November 2025, comes more than 25 years after conscription was phased out in France and is part of a broader effort to bolster France's defence capabilities in response to growing fears of a confrontation with Russia. France joins several other European countries that have introduced or expanded military service schemes in recent years, driven by concerns over the wider security outlook on the continent."