During his presidential campaign in 2017, Emmanuel Macron promised to bring back the mandatory national service.
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Now, 20 years after the end of the army The French government has announced that the new national service could be put in place as early as next year.
Michel Euler / Reuters
French President Emmanuel Macron speaks to children visiting a day care center as part of a plan to fight poverty for children and youth in the country, in Gennevilliers , near Paris, October 17, 2017. [19659008] In a report posted on its website Wednesday, the government says the goal of the service is to "promote the engagement of young people in the life of the enhance citizenship and strengthen social cohesion ".
The new national service will be divided into two phases, according to the French government: one mandatory for every 16 years, and another volunteer.
During the first mandatory phase, which will last one month, teens will live collectively, which will allow them to create new relationships and develop their cultural engagement as well as their role in society, announced the government.
<img src = "https://s.abcnews.com/images/International/emmanuel-macron-3-gty-jt-180628_hpEmbed_22x15_992.jpg" border = "0" width = "640" height = "480 "alt =" PHOTO: French President Emmanuel Macron stands with children in the nave of the Pantheon on April 27, 2018 in Paris, during a ceremony in tribute to the victims of French slavery in his colonies and celebrating 170 years since its abolition. [19659006] Thibault Camus / AFP / Getty Images
French President Emmanuel Macron stands with children in the nave of the Pantheon on April 27, 2018 in Paris, during a ceremony in tribute to the victims of French slavery in its colonies and celebrating 170 years since its abolition.
The second voluntary phase will last at least three months and up to one year.The young French will be encouraged to serve " in a field related to defense and security, as well as the environment, the preservation of u heritage or social protection, "said Wednesday the French Minister of Education, Jean-Michel Blanquer.
French youth organizations, however, criticized the proposed new national service. In a forum published this month in the French newspaper Le Journal du Dimanche, 14 organizations opposed to the program argue that adolescents should be able to exercise their freedom of choice.
Stéphane Mahe / Reuters
French President Emmanuel Macron delivers a speech in Quimper, France, June 21, 2018 [19659008] The government says that it will begin consultations with youth organizations, parents of students and teachers next fall to gather additional ideas and work on logistics, such as housing and the supervision of teenagers during the service. The new program should be phased in starting in 2019.
Michel Euler / Reuters 
Stéphane Mahe / Reuters 