The French Court of Audit has published a critical report on the Universal National Service (SNU), President Emmanuel Macron’s civic-military programme, highlighting what the court called significant issues in its management and financial planning.
Published on September 13, the report revealed a disorganised implementation of the SNU and underestimations of its costs.
“The roll-out of the SNU has encountered a number of difficulties, particularly with regard to the reception of minors and the recruitment and remuneration of supervisors,” the report said.
The Court of Audit’s pointed to what it termed several operational difficulties including securing suitable accommodation, recruiting and compensating supervisors, transporting participants and staff, managing uniforms and equipment and organising community service opportunities.
According to the court, financially the SNU has also encountered significantly “underestimated cost” which put in doubt the viability of the scheme.
Initially estimated to cost around €2,300 per participant for 2021 and 2022, the court now projects the cost to be approximately €2,900 per participant for 2022.
The planned expansion of the programme to include around 850,000 young people by the 2026 academic year is now expected to be significantly more expensive than anticipated.
The French Ministry of Education and Youth has estimated the cost of this expansion at €2 billion for the first phase alone. The Court of Audit suggested that the total cost, including all three phases of the programme, could range between €3.5 billion and €5 billion.
France is facing “a serious slippage in public finances” over a €16 billion spending increase, ministers in the country have warned. https://t.co/sQm21v9fGK
— Brussels Signal (@brusselssignal) September 4, 2024
Launched in 2019 as part of Macron’s vision to “strengthen national unity among young people”, he promised a compulsory national service enabling young people to “experience military life”.
But, according to the court: “More than five years after its launch, its objectives remain unclear and, as a result, poorly understood by the general public, in particular young people, who are its target audience.”
The SNU requires participants to spend a month engaging in civic activities and learning about Republican values within a military-style framework.
The programme has been also been hit by several controversies.
In 2023, two managers at an SNU centre in Haute-Savoie were dismissed after meting out “humiliating” physical punishment, according to French public radio service France Info.
The Court of Audit is not alone in criticising the programme. A branch of France’s prominent CGT union have also expressed similar concerns.
“Yet another waste of public money that the CGT Educ’action has been warning about since the launch of this system. Useless, dangerous in ideological terms, it is not the SNU that young people need! The CGT Educ’action is demanding that it be abandoned,” the CGT posted on X.
Green MP Jean-Claude Raux also weighed in, alleging financial mismanagement and unmet goals amid a public policy driven by image and emptiness. “Our youth deserves infinitely better,” he said.
1 an après la sortie de mon rapport sur le #SNU, 5 ans après son lancement, le constat est confirmé et accablant.
Gabegie financière et objectifs non atteints : une politique publique de l’image et du vide.
Notre jeunesse mérite infiniment mieux. https://t.co/XhjTe898fh
— Jean-Claude Raux (@JeanClaudeRaux) September 13, 2024
