Overview
- AFP reports the Élysée could unveil the plan in the coming days, with Thursday floated for announcements though not confirmed.
- Scenarios under review would enroll 10,000 to 50,000 volunteers each year for roughly 10 months with pay of several hundred euros.
- The 2025 national strategic review frames the initiative as strengthening national cohesion and creating a pool of people mobilisable in a crisis.
- The Ministry of the Armed Forces declined to detail scope, timing or costs, as Minister Delegate Alice Rufo said work is underway and key arbitrations are pending.
- French press say the Service National Universel will be discontinued on January 1, 2026, as debate unfolds against a wider European move to reinforce national service.