Macron hails 'collective endeavour' at meeting with military volunteers

President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday met with young military volunteers, praising the "spirit of collective endeavour" as European countries struggle to recruit troops in the face of Russia's aggression.

Frightened by US security disengagement and Moscow's war against Ukraine, European countries have debated reinstating some form of national service -- compulsory or voluntary -- to boost their defences.

Studies show that many Europeans are not prepared to defend their countries on the battlefield.

Macron has been looking for ways to encourage young people to serve, and in November last year announced the introduction of a voluntary military service.

Meeting with the first intake of volunteers at an airbase in the southeastern town of Orange, Macron on Tuesday said freedom should not be taken for granted and invoked the Charles de Gaulle-led fight against Nazi troops during World War II.

"What brings you together today is the desire to serve something greater than yourselves and to make yourselves useful to France," Macron said.

"You will train for a profession, acquire skills, discover life within a military unit and contribute to its missions," he added.

"But you will also learn something even more valuable: the sense of collective endeavour, meaning being able to rely on others, lean on them for support, and be worthy of their trust."

Volunteers, mostly aged 18 to 19, are to be deployed only on national soil, Macron has said.

Compulsory military service ended in 2001, and France does not intend to re-establish it.

Germany is struggling to recruit soldiers and will have to decide by July 2027 at the latest whether to reintroduce compulsory service, a senior parliamentarian has said.

The voluntary military service programme is seen as a way of bolstering the army with recruits, but also of providing a large pool of potential reservists, who could be called up in the case of a war.

Macron said the first intake of the recruits would be named after Henri Fertet, a member of the French Resistance who was executed by the Nazis in 1943 at the age of 16.

"The choice he made, to serve France and defend its freedom, resonates with your own commitment, the choice to serve rather than submit," Macron added.