Defense and Citizenship Day (formerly JAPD) and army advertising spots finally seem to have an effect on new generations. Or would it rather be the current context which encourages young French people to participate in the military effort? There is in any case a “renewed patriotism” among 18-25 year olds, according to an unprecedented study on young people and war, carried out in 2023 and published Friday by organizations of the Ministry of the Armed Forces. Strong trends emerge in the perception of military issues.
“There is a revival of patriotism which responds to a need for meaning, commitment, to feel useful,” explained to AFP the author of the study, Anne Muxel, research director at the CNRS and director delegate of the CEVIPOF political research center.
More than one in two ready to enlist in the event of war
Among the striking figures from this sociological study, the first on the subject since the start of the Russian invasion in Ukraine on February 24, 2022. To the question: “if the protection of France required the country to engage in war in Ukraine, would you be ready to commit to defending your country? », 51% of those questioned answered “yes”, including 17% “yes absolutely” and 34 “yes perhaps”. Nearly a quarter of boys (24%) answered “yes absolutely”, compared to 12% of girls.
Even more striking: without mentioning a particular country, 57% of the young people questioned declared themselves ready to enlist under the flags “in the event of war”.
A third of young people in favor of a French presence in Ukraine
Furthermore, almost a third of young French people (31%) declared themselves in favor of a deployment of French troops in Ukraine (compared to 17% of those aged 50 and over), even before the option was mentioned by Emmanuel Macron. on February 26.
A majority for compulsory military service
A large majority of respondents (62%) consider that “it would be a good thing to once again establish compulsory military service”, abolished in 1997 and partially reintroduced by several European countries such as Sweden.
Furthermore, more than half of them are “possibly considering a career in the armed forces”, good news for an institution which in 2023 experienced a deficit between departures and recruits of some 3,000 personnel.
Bonuses
One last figure to remember for the road. More than two thirds of young people questioned, or 77%, believe that global warming constitutes an additional risk of war.