The Minister of the Armed Forces is working on doubling the number of reservists

The Ministry of the Armed Forces has decided to embark on a vast project: doubling the number of reservists and their better use to provide reinforcements, in the event of a crisis. “Today we have 40,000 reservists, who are not always sufficiently well used. We are currently carrying out an in-depth organizational reflection.declared the Minister for the Armed Forces, Sébastien Lecornu, in an interview with FigaroMonday 5 September, considering that in the event of “hybrid threat or crisis reserves can play a major role”.

These remarks are in line with those of the Head of State. On July 13, during his traditional speech at the Hôtel de Brienne, on the eve of the parade, which often serves as a roadmap for the armies, Emmanuel Macron had heavily insisted on the need to develop “moral forces” of France and the link “nation-army”, especially with regard to the war in Ukraine. Something that should pass, according to him, by a strengthening of the universal national service (SNU), but also, and above all, by a doubling of the operational reserves.

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The Minister of the Armed Forces therefore began to detail, on Monday, the avenues of work. He indicated that this increase could notably go through a “multiplication” reserves within the army health service. A ” priority “, according to him. A reflection would also be carried out to broaden the eligibility criteria. “Some fellow citizens are refused for their weight or their age: yet they may have cyber skills”illustrated Mr. Lecornu. Employers and unions should soon be consulted to find ways to facilitate the time available to reservists.

Voluntary service of “six months”

Another avenue put forward by the Minister: the “territorialization” of these reservists, particularly in the “departments without an active military unit”, said Mr. Lecornu. A line of work considered as a possible lever for the passage for the UNS, and today carried in particular by the army. The Chief of Staff of the Army (Cemat), General Pierre Schill, began to reveal the outlines during a hearing at the National Assembly which took place in July and made public in August.

The ambition of the Chief of Staff of the Army is to succeed in recruiting some 10,000 young people per year

While the army has approximately 25,000 reservists and recruits some 4,000 per year – the largest contingent of the armed forces – General Schill indicated to parliamentarians that he had made proposals to develop the concept of “national territory volunteer”. A commitment which would take the form of a voluntary service of ” six months “ in units “territorialized” : ” a first “, according to the general, while the army today is organized as a national reservoir of forces without territorial predestination. The Cemat’s ambition is to succeed in recruiting some 10,000 young people a year.

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