France to reintroduce military service amid Russian threat
Macron delivers warning as he prepares new military service plan
- French President Emmanuel Macron is poised to unveil a new voluntary national military service plan aimed at bolstering the nation's armed forces.
- The initiative is a direct response to escalating concerns over Russia's threat to European stability beyond the war in Ukraine.
- Macron stressed the importance of preparing France for growing threats, warning that any signal of weakness would encourage Russia's imperial ambitions.
- France plans to significantly increase its defence spending, with an additional €6.5 billion over the next two years and an annual target of €64 billion by 2027, alongside increasing reservists to 100,000 by 2030.
- The new service is voluntary and will not involve sending young people to the front line in Ukraine, with other European nations also strengthening their military capabilities.