In a strong and firm voice, Sergeant Titouan warns: “For vomit, it will happen between the bushes or behind the cars, but not in front of the door.” The soldier knows from experience that Luc Léger’s cardiorespiratory endurance test, carried out at 8 a.m. – that is to say in the cool and just after breakfast – generally leaves traces in the candidates for the army.
There are around forty of them this Tuesday morning taking part in the physical tests at the Nansouty barracks in Bordeaux, the joint recruitment center for the South West. Luc Léger’s test, which consists of running between two lines spaced 20 meters apart for as long as possible, respecting a running pace which accelerates every minute, did not get the better of anyone’s insides this time. But several of the future recruits, all in their twenties, narrowly missed out. They all finished on their knees.
“Not here to send them to the pipes”
Mattéo managed the event well, even if he was a little disappointed with his performance. “We attack from 8:30 a.m., in the cold, not warmed up, so we are a little caught off guard,” he explains. My result is below what I can do, but it is still acceptable. » Julie had trained a lot, but the stress got the better of the young woman, who “dreamed of joining the army” since she was 4 years old. “I woke up with a lump in my stomach this morning, and the tests were a little early, it was a little cold,” she told us in tears, convinced that she had “messed everything up.” » She will be reassured a little later at the end of the psychotechnical tests.
After the Luc Léger, it’s time for pull-ups for the men, pulley for the women. The goal is to evaluate the upper body muscles. The sporting events end with a series of squats. “Nothing is unacceptable in these tests,” says an evaluator, but the results will later allow the candidate to be directed to the right regiment. “We are not going to assign a young person who is not very athletic in a unit where physicality is essential. We’re not here to send them to the punchline. »
“Physical tests make it possible to evaluate the candidates’ abilities obviously, but not only that,” adds another soldier. The state of mind is also important, we notice when someone makes the effort to push their limits. This can count, especially when the candidate is aiming for very demanding units like the BSPP [Brigade des sapeurs-pompiers de Paris.] »
“Do I give him a gun?” »
The evaluation of candidates at the Nansouty barracks takes place over two days, divided into four half-days. “Here, we evaluate, we do not select,” insists Lieutenant-Colonel Gérald, head of the evaluation and information department. Even if there are still those who fail: those who do not pass the medical examination stage – around 5% per year – and those with a psychological profile that is too fragile – one or two per month. “The question I ask myself when I am presented with a candidate with a depressive profile is: should I give him a weapon? » points out the officer.
After the medical examination stage and the physical fitness tests, comes the personality test, which takes place through a questionnaire of 170 questions. Finally, the cognitive tests make it possible to assess the intellectual abilities of the candidate, which will in particular allow an orientation towards the category of non-commissioned officer, non-commissioned officer or officer. But the assignment will not be decided by the recruitment and selection group, this will be the role of the recruitment advisor, in a second step.
“Reveal the candidate’s skills”
“Here, our goal is to reveal the candidate’s abilities and to inform them,” summarizes the lieutenant-colonel. Who underlines that they “often arrive with fixed ideas about the army: they would generally like to be commandos or paratroopers, but these are not necessarily mass sports, so it is necessary to reorient a certain number of them. » This is good, “there are 400 professions in the army, so there is almost enough to satisfy everyone. » “We take advantage of the fact that they are in a barracks for two days and a night to give them information, we talk to them about the values of the army, also about the fact of having to deal with death… All of this changes their thinking . »
“We try to have information on how they will behave in community life, their relationship with authority, if they have already been led to command a team,” adds Major Mehdi, who passes the personality tests. The candidate generally has an idea of the weapon he wants to join – infantry, cavalry, engineering, etc. – we will target if he has the profile that matches. »
The Nansouty recruitment center sees some 4,000 candidates pass through each year, participating in the recruitment of 16,000 people by the army each year.