Reservists will parade this year in Paris during the parade on July 14 with the 9th Marine Brigade parading prominently on the Champs Elysees. A place of honor that symbolizes a very ambitious project by Sébastien Lecornu.
The Armed Forces Minister wants France to have a National Guard of 100,000 operational reserve members by 2035, or a third of the French armies. By 2030, it already plans to double its number from around 40,000 today to 80,000.
a recruiting plan
The minister chaired this Wednesday a parade in Les Invalides made up entirely of reservists, “It is a first”, said the minister who was accompanied by the Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces, the General Arms Delegate, Emmanuel Chiva and Chiefs of the General Staff. General Staff of the Army, Air/Space and Navy.
During this ceremony in which various National Guard volunteers were awarded, Sébastien Lecornu solemnly called on the French men and women to commit themselves, regardless of their abilities, their age (from 17 to 77 years) or their physical condition.
But, above all, it asks companies to make an effort by granting more paid leave to reserve soldiers to complete their period, which, on average, can reach 37 days a year. Today, in most cases, employees use their paid vacation or RTT to train or complete missions.
To give an example, agreements have been signed with five large businessmen: the Bouygues group, SNCF, Allianz, BNP Paribas and the Essonne Departmental Council. They are committed to facilitating the commitment of their reservists by making it easy to take paid days. For some of them, it will be around thirty days that their employees will be able to dedicate to the armed forces and security.
This 1,000-employee company was awarded the National Guard Award with the Saône-et-Loire Departmental Council, UNEO (Mutual Fund of the Armed Forces) and the Ecole des Mines d’Alès, which has many student-reservists.
reserve regiments
To attract these troops, the Minister of the Armed Forces has also made a commitment. First, to call them regularly. “It is not normal that those who have signed up and have been admitted have never been summoned. It is a failure,” admitted Sébastien Lecornu, announcing an increase in training and the possibility of moving to Opex (outside operations).
On the other hand, the tasks entrusted to them will not be incidental. The chiefs of staff of the three armies (land, sea, and air/space) are on the move. In addition to Operation Sentinel, launched in 2015 with 3,000 reservists out of 10,000 soldiers, the scope of action of the National Guard will be expanded.
The Navy will create coastal flotillas made up of reservists. The Air and Space Force will install a reservist squadron at each air base. The Army will strengthen its companies and reserve sections and create specialized units such as the 24th Infantry Regiment, an Île-de-France-based unit made up entirely of reservists.
But to attract these volunteers, means must be put in place to facilitate the recruitment procedures. They will have to be equipped, housed, armed and transported. BITD industrialists will be involved.
But also, the application website should be streamlined from the start of the school year in September. Currently, it is described as a “gas plant” by those who have ventured there. Its complexity slows down, even discourages from crossing this barrier. A communication campaign should be launched “when these problems are resolved,” a person close to the file told us.
This plan supposes a budget of approximately 400 million euros foreseen in the military programming law 2024-2030 of 413,000 million euros. Still under discussion, this 30% increase in the Army budget should be formalized in the coming days.
Source: BFM TV
