these young people answer the call

In the cold of the Alsatian winter, two young men solemnly raise the colors. Around them, the barracks freeze. Three soldiers stop piloting their drone. Students in blue fatigues remove tarpaulins and tricorns, the headgear of the navy. For this group of high school and university students, a new day begins in the closed world of the army. Every other Saturday, since last September, 29 girls and boys get up at dawn, of their own free will, to follow the military preparation of the navy, in Strasbourg (Bas-Rhin), an introductory course in the military environment.

“We’re going back to the right, don’t worry, you’ve already forgotten everything! » exclaims Mathieu Foehrenbach, reservist officer in the navy. In an impressive obedience movement, the young people begin a series of push-ups, before reviewing the sailor’s knots and walking in step. Here, discipline is not decorative: it prepares you for the unpredictable.

Since the invasion of Ukraine, European armies have been reorganizing around the hypothesis of a high-intensity conflict against Russia. In October 2025, German intelligence services predicted a potential attack against NATO countries in Eastern Europe by 2029. France is increasing joint exercises with its allies, such as Orion 26: since February 8, 2026, and for three months, 12,500 soldiers, 25 ships, 140 planes and 1,200 drones are participating in a large-scale maneuver on the territory national.

Strengthen the reserve

But the State is also banking on the new generation for our defense. In the fall of 2025, Emmanuel Macron announced the return of military service, voluntary this time, and the government is now leading the recruitment campaign vigorously.

Very different from Strasbourg’s military preparation, this “national service” is open to French men and women aged 18 to 25 and will integrate 3,000 young people from the start of the 2026 school year. They will not join the active (professional) army, will not go to fight at the front, but after one month of training, they will join the reserve for nine months, in support of territory protection missions, particularly within the framework of the operation Sentinel.

Part of the public remains skeptical of these future reservists. But for the authorities, it is above all a question of sending a signal: showing that France is strengthening its defense capacity.

“I like discipline”

Resilient, patriotic, capable of responding to global threats, are the youth of 2026 really? Addicted to social networks, she is often seen as the incarnation of an individualistic era, where authority and effort are refused in favor of personal comfort. Even within the army, some are doubtful. “Do you know many young people ready to sacrifice themselves for their country? quips an instructor. Today, most remain glued to the Playstation! »

Polls and sociological studies tell a different story. Published in 2024, a vast survey carried out with Irsem reveals that 57% of young people aged 18 to 25 would be ready to enlist if war broke out. And 48% would go so far as to sacrifice their lives for their country. This generation did not grow up carefree.

After the pandemic, she experienced political instability, economic gloom, environmental crisis and was unable to find housing. Many doubt the social advancement and struggle to project themselves. According to surveys, she has little confidence in public institutions – schools, government, police – but holds the military in esteem. So why not get involved?

In Strasbourg, the navy trainees say: “I like the discipline of the army. » Two of them could join national service in September 2026.

Clara, 17, comes from Sainte-Marie-aux-Mines (Haut-Rhin), a small town on the border with Lorraine. “I am in the process of registering on the online platform,” she says, all smiles. I discovered the army thanks to a high school teacher who told us about a military rally, a day of sporting events for teenagers. I went there and I loved it! »

Thirty years after the end of conscription, Marie’s journey remains atypical. Most young people do not have a direct link with the army and society is more indifferent.

The government hopes to reverse the trend. Objective of national service: increase the number of reservists to 105,000 by 2035. In Europe, other countries have already put their young people in fatigues, aware of no longer being able to count on the unlimited support of the United States under Donald Trump.

Sweden and Latvia have reinstated compulsory service, while Germany and Romania are moving towards voluntary service. Their arguments are attractive. The Germans will receive a gross salary of 2,600 euros per month – the French will only have a minimum of 800 euros.

“Protective” soldiers

But the great “national cause” appeals. Matthieu, 23, a business school student in Lyon (Rhône), sees it as a formative and valuable experience in the business world. In Clermont-Ferrand (Puy-de-Dôme), Olivia, 21, hopes to test her attraction to law enforcement professions, because she would like to “help people”.

Young people not only perceive the military as warriors but also as protectors. “They respond to natural disasters and help maintain peace abroad. They have a humanitarian mission,” recalls sociologist Christel Coton. The terrorist attacks of the last decade have also revived the patriotism of this generation marked by the Bataclan and eager to protect their country and their loved ones.

However, this vision is not unanimous. At the Clermont-Ferrand language faculty, some students consider military service “too old France”. “War is for professionals,” says Lywell, 18 years old. His comrade Lalie fears an institution that is “too macho, reactionary” where we would lose our individuality.

A part of the youth remains resistant to the army, heir to an antimilitarist tradition born in the 1960s, after the Algerian war. Many young men then experienced conscription as a chore. In 1997, Jacques Chirac put an end to this burdensome moral duty to professionalize the armies.

Good physical shape

Since then, the institution has been profoundly transformed. “Previously, the superiors did not hesitate to slap the face and scream,” says an instructor. Now there is kindness and orders must make sense. » It is in this more modern framework that the army will distribute the 3,000 conscripts in its barracks at the start of the school year in September 2026, then up to 10,000 per year in 2030.

The young people will sleep four or six per room and will get up early each morning, make their beds square and raise the colors. The use of cell phones will be strictly supervised, and physical effort compulsory. “In the army, we often do two hours of sport every day, with obstacle courses and mud,” describes an alpine hunter. We must learn to handle artillery and drones, because we are training field combatants. »

The Navy and the Air and Space Force will require good physical fitness but the requirements should be lower. In these more specialized corps, recruits could participate in monitoring fishing zones or even tracking flights.

What to encourage vocations? “After the baccalaureate, I would like to become a marine rifleman or a mechanic,” confides Johan, 17, at a vocational high school in Soufflenheim (Bas-Rhin). In my class, everyone wants to join the army! » Because in rural areas as in working-class neighborhoods, the army offers opportunities for social advancement and the prestige of the uniform. “We are progressing quickly,” confirms a sailor. In a month or two, an apprentice sailor can man the helm of a warship! »

Military service could thus bring together a wide diversity of profiles, eager to be empowered and regulated. But the youth will not stand to attention for the same priorities. Like all professions of the order, the institution does not escape political divisions. According to an Ipsos poll, 33% of 18-24 year olds voted for the National Rally in the 2024 legislative elections.

Within the army, some recruits are motivated by nationalist ideas: the defense of sovereignty, borders, cultural identity. For them, the threat comes less from the outside than from “inside”. France, faced with “uncontrolled” immigration, could enter into civil war with Islamist cells.

Serve, but to what extent?

Whatever their motivations, the question of war transcends these divisions. The invasion of Ukraine raised awareness in her. War could break out at any time. Is she ready to die for the flag? No one has an answer to this question.

For most, it is not sacrifice that motivates commitment but the desire to serve the country. “I would like to give back to France everything it has given me,” says Julia, 17, a trainee at the military preparation in Strasbourg.

Under the watchful eye of instructors, the high school student volunteers to assemble and disassemble an assault rifle. Methodically, she removes the stock, the cheek rest, then disarticulates the skeleton of the weapon: the mechanism housing, the handguard, the cocking lever, etc.

During the holidays, she will practice shooting with her comrades at the Toulon naval base (Var). “Shooting is always a stressful moment in the preparation,” confides instructor Mathieu Foehrenbach. Boys turn white, girls burst into tears. This is where they learn to keep their cool. »

What if this rite of passage into adulthood became the norm, in the face of the Russian threat? Remember, national service is only training to enter the army reserve. The reservists will provide reinforcement to protect the territory.

Some of those called up could, on the other hand, choose to professionalize. They should not be cannon fodder, as in the First World War. Tomorrow’s war will be hybrid, combining cyberattacks, disinformation campaigns and armed operations. Some young people are already preparing with excitement, their adolescent fingers resting on the trigger.