Your country needs you (again): Europe's reluctant generation braces itself for national service call-up

The youth of France are ambivalent about a new national service model that hopes to start attracting thousands next year and deeply worried that Europe might have to go to war, most likely with Russia.

Minds have been focused by President Emmanuel Macron’s announcement last week that France would have a form of voluntary conscription.

“We need mobilisation,” Mr Macron said. “France cannot remain idle”, while the younger generation was “ready to stand up” for their nation, he added. His office has highlighted recent studies on the armed forces' popularity among French youth.

You can put it on your CV and it’s viewed as a good thing Ask ,

former Norwegian conscript

Yet on the streets of Paris, The National found several youths who were troubled by the thought of being drafted and a handful excited by the idea of serving their country.

All agreed that the world as they know it is under threat, though they struggled to pinpoint what exactly they were afraid of - the military might of Russia and China, or social inequalities and climate change.

But it is that fear that motivated Loic, 22, a fashion student, to keep an open mind about the possibility of volunteering in the new military conscription scheme.

Mr Macron's announcements “actually scared me”, said Loic. “I've always been afraid of experiencing it." It brought back grim memories of his grandparents tales about the Second World War, he added.

As a student who benefited from European funds and has lived in Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and Germany, he is also deeply attached to the ideal of a united Europe. "I'd still be willing to do military service, but it depends on ... whether it aligns with my values," he said.

France's President Emmanuel Macron unveils a new national military service in Varces in the French Alps. AP

Some confessed to “turning a blind eye and telling myself nothing's happening", or the fear of being forced to go to war, while others cited the comfort of France’s nuclear deterrent.

But for Gregoire, 17, who