Six in ten people support return to obligatory national service in France, poll shows

Support for mandatory national military service is strong in France, according to a recent poll that found six out of ten respondents in favour of its return.

France’s army has been fully professional since mandatory military service was abolished under the presidency of Jacques Chirac in 1997.

However, up to 72% of voters for the right-wing Républicains and 77% for the far-right Rassemblement National support the idea of a return to obligatory national service, falling to 35% among voters for the left-wing coalition of the Nouveau Front Populaire, according to a recent poll by think tank Destin Commun commissioned by newspaper Ouest France.*

Support is strongest among older voters, with 72% of over-65s in favour, against 43% of those aged 18 to 24.

The poll, which also included respondents from the UK, Germany and Poland, highlighted the respondents’ security concerns amid the tensions surrounding the international political climate and the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The question of national military service was only asked of French respondents.

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Nearly eight in ten French people (76%) say they are worried or very worried “about the conflict spreading to Europe in the next few years”.

Six out of ten French people (60%) think it likely that Russia will invade other European countries in the next few years, compared with 68% in the UK and Poland and 53% in Germany.

Only a quarter of French people still consider the United States to be an ally, and more than half (57%) “seem to have difficulty describing the relationship, and are reluctant to agree to a potential reversal of alliance,” says think tank Destin Commun, which conducted the poll.

57% of French voters want to continue to support Ukraine, even without the support of the United States, compared with 66% of Poles and Britons and 54% in Germany.

44% are also “fairly or very much in favour” of sending a peacekeeping mission to Ukraine, compared to 57% in the UK, 41% in Germany and 27% in Poland.

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No plan for return of military service

Despite the groundswell of support, the government has no appetite for a return of mandatory national service, which Minister of the Armed Forces Sébastien Lecornu described as “of no military value”.

“Mobilising millions of young people is a form of conventional deterrence, but France relies on a professional army and a nuclear deterrent,” he told France Inter on March 6.

However, Mr Lecornu is in favour of increasing the size of France’s professional army.

“We don't have enough reservists, we need to speed up the process of tightening up our reserves,” he said, noting that the army’s manpower had been stretched in 2024 due to its use in securing the Olympic games and again in 2025 through its deployment to Mayotte in the aftermath of Cyclone Chido.

While France has had no mandatory military service since 1997, President Macron introduced a voluntary scheme for people aged 15 to 17 called Service national universel in 2021. 

The month-long scheme, which includes first aid courses as well as driving and citizenship lessons with the aim of promoting social engagement, saw the Senate cut its budget by 80% in January 2025 in order to redirect the funds to sporting programmes, leaving its future uncertain.

*Online survey by Destin commun commissioned by newspaper Ouest France of 1,503 people in France using the quota method (gender, age, profession, level of qualification and region), as well as 1,093 in the UK, 1,513 in Germany and 1,000 in Poland.