Image credit: AP

France will introduce voluntary conscription from next summer, President Emmanuel Macron has announced.

Standing in front of a line-up from the Mountain Infantry Brigade in Varces, near Grenoble, the French president said: “Whenever history demands it, the youth of France have committed themselves and mobilised.”

“Volunteers will be selected by the armed forces, which will choose the most motivated and those who best meet their needs,” he said.

“They will serve under military command and will be provided with a uniform, pay, and equipment.”

From 2027, the scheme will be extended to include the navy, national police and Paris fire department.

His speech was greeted not by applause but by the singing of the French national anthem La Marseillaise, a capella, by the Pres

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