Overview
- The programme targets 18- to 25-year-olds for a paid, purely military engagement of ten months with a minimum monthly allowance of about €800 and assignments on national soil only.
- The selection pathway includes dossier review, interviews, a medical exam and security checks, with outcomes due by 1 July 2026 and first incorporations planned between September and November 2026.
- Officials plan to scale from 3,000 volunteers in 2026 toward 50,000 annually by 2035, replacing the earlier SNU civic scheme.
- The Ministry of the Armed Forces has refuted viral claims of phone canvassing of parents and reiterates that volunteers will not be sent to fight in Ukraine or deployed abroad.
- Press estimates put the 2026–2030 cost near €2.3 billion as experts question encadrement and infrastructure needs, even as polling shows strong public support and some localities, such as Manosque, signal readiness to host early centers.