Defence and Citizenship Day (France)


Defence and Citizenship Day is a day established in 1998 in France by the French president, Jacques Chirac, during his first presidential mandate in the context of the national service reform.
It is a one-day program that deals with citizenship, Duty of Remembrance, awareness on defence, army, nation, European issues etc.
It has replaced the military service.
From 1998 to 2010, it was called Defence Preparation Day.

Participants

It is compulsory for all persons of French nationality, both males and females, who live in France or abroad.
It is directed to young public between 16 and 25 years of age.

Exception

Persons suffering from a serious illness and severely disabled persons are exempted

Activities

The program lasts one day, usually from 8:00AM to 5:00PM. Participants first start to fill out some administrative papers and then take some exams to evaluate their French text-comprehensions. Afterwards, participants learn more about the French defence, the European and international geopolitical situations, and also about international agreements.
It is also an opportunity for participants to discover army trades, and the different military training programs.
A first aid training has been integrated into the program since 2014.

Certificate

At the conclusion of the program, an individual certificate is issued to each participant. This certificate is needed to take the baccalaureate examination, to enroll in public university, to obtain a driving licence or to apply for any civil servant jobs.

Service national universel

In 2019 the Service national universel was introduced by president Emmanuel Macron and will become a compulsory service in 2021. It will last one month time.