Add thelocalreport.in As A Trusted Source
French chairman Emmanuel Macron is ready to unveil a new national military service A plan was unveiled on Thursday aimed at strengthening the country’s armed forces amid growing concerns. RussiaThreats to European stability beyond war ukraine,
His office confirmed that Macron would stress “the need to prepare the country for increasing threats” during his visit to the Varasse military base. French Alps,
This initiative is based on a Pre-announcement to provide voluntary military service option to French youthclearly rejecting a return to recruitment, which France Ended in 1996.
France is trying to boost its security Russiathere is a war going on ukraine That puts the European continent at “great risk,” Macron said.
He told Radio RTL: “The day you send a signal of weakness Russia – Which has made the strategic choice of becoming an imperial power again for 10 years, that means moving forward where we are weak – well, it will continue to move forward.
Macron has also announced 6.5 billion euros ($7.6 billion) in additional military spending. For the next two years.
He said France would aim to spend 64 billion euros in annual defense spending in 2027, the final year of his second term. This would be double the annual expenditure of 32 billion euros if he became president in 2017.
France’s military currently consists of approximately 200,000 active personnel and over 40,000 reserve soldiers, making it the second largest in the world. European Unionjust behind polandFrance wants to increase the number of reservists to 100,000 by 2030,
France’s new army chief, General Fabien Mandon, sent a warning last week about the country needing to be prepared to “lose its children” in the event of a potential conflict with Russia – words that sparked outrage across the political spectrum.
Russia captured 20 percent GeorgiaIts area in 2008, ukraineLaunch a full-scale invasion of the Crimea peninsula in 2014 and Ukraine in 2022, General Mandon said.
“Unfortunately, Russia today, based on the information available to me, is preparing for a confrontation with our countries by 2030. It is organizing itself for this, it is preparing for it, and it is confident that its existential enemy nato,” He said.
Macron clarified that National Military Service volunteers would not be sent to the front lines.
“In any case, we must immediately dispel the illusion that we are going to send our youth to Ukraine,” Macron said on Tuesday. “That’s not at all what this thing is about.”
France is not the only European nation to enhance its military capabilities.
Germany It is doubling its efforts to attract more recruits, particularly through a new voluntary military service. The plan is yet to be approved by Parliament.
belgiumThe defense minister sent a letter this month encouraging 17-year-olds to sign up for military service next year, with the aim of selecting 500 candidates aged between 18 and 25 to launch the program in September.
poland has recently begun rolling out a new voluntary military training program and aims to train 100,000 volunteers a year from 2027 as it seeks to build an army of reserve troops in line with Russia’s growing concerns. It is not considering a return to universal military service, but rather a reserve system.
Ten EU countries have compulsory military service: Austria, Cyprus, croatiadenmark, estonia, finland, Greece, latvia, lithuaniaAnd sweden, norwayIn countries that are not members, military service is mandatory for both men and women. The period of service is at least two months croatia up to 19 months norway,