Funding for national services at "Vitaminated" has been set at around 600 million euros, with compulsory military service approaching nearly 15 billion...
France eyeballs a shocking 14.5 billion euros bill if they bring back mandatory military service, according to a report by the High Commissioner for Planning and France Stratégie. That's if both men and women are included in the draft.
The report presents a variety of scenarios for French youth service changes. One suggestion involves a boosted Universal National Service (SNU), which could draw in 200,000 youngsters a year at an estimated yearly cost of 600 million euros. Another idea floats the possibility of a compulsory civil service for a majority of an age group, affecting 600,000 youths annually, with an estimated cost ranging from 1.7 to 3.5 billion euros per year.
A voluntary six-month military service for 18-25 year-olds would set the government back 1.7 billion euros per year, while the return of mandatory military service could cost up to 14.5 billion euros if open to both sexes.
Two hybrid scenarios are also proposed: one combines a compulsory civil service for all with a voluntary three-month military service, and the other allows a choice between a five-month civil service and a three-month military service. Both plans engage 600,000 young people at an approximately 5.2 billion euros annual cost.
The authors of the report suggest valuing engagement in this future national service in school and university careers, considering it for retirement calculations, and using it in civil servant career advancements to strengthen military culture and national cohesion. In 2023, 40,135 students took part in the SNU's cohesion stay, with a budget allocation of 96.3 million euros. For civic service, the budget was 524 million euros for 88,000 new participants.
Considering the projected 2025 French budget of approximately 844 billion euros, with significant costs already committed, it remains uncertain whether the various service proposals will fit within the nation's fiscal constraints. Wage costs, logistics, and administration would dominate the expenses for any large-scale service model. Based on comparable programs, hypothetical cost ranges suggest that universal SNU could cost 3-5 billion, civil service 1.2-2 billion, voluntary military service 500 million to a billion, and hybrid models 2-4 billion euros annually. The economic headwinds and potential reduced tax revenues due to services PMI contraction and subdued business confidence in services may add to the challenge.
- The High Commissioner for Planning and France Stratégie propose a hypothesis that reinstating mandatory military service in France could lead to costs of up to 14.5 billion euros per year, with both men and women included in the draft.
- One of the proposed scenarios in the report suggests a boosted Universal National Service (SNU), which may draw in 200,000 youngsters a year at an estimated yearly cost of 600 million euros.
- Another idea floated in the report is a compulsory civil service for a majority of an age group, affecting 600,000 youths annually, with an estimated cost ranging from 1.7 to 3.5 billion euros per year.
- In the realm of politics and general news, the economic feasibility of these service proposals is questionable, given France's projected 2025 budget of approximately 844 billion euros and the significant costs already committed.
- For individuals considering education-and-self-development, engagement in future national service might be valued in terms of careers, such as in the calculation of retirement benefits or advancements in civil servant positions, as proposed by the authors of the report.
