Russia threat: France plans voluntary military service

President Emmanuel Macron is set this week to announce that France is restoring military service on a voluntary basis in the face of the growing threat posed by Russia, just under three decades after conscription was abolished in the country.

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The head of state is due to lay out the change on a visit to an infantry brigade in southeastern France on Thursday, according to multiple sources familiar with the decision who spoke to AFP.

The announcement will come more than three-and-a-half years into Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, with Macron and other French officials warning that Moscow risks not stopping at Ukraine's borders. France's top general, armed forces chief of staff Fabien Mandon, sparked uproar at home last week by warning that France must be ready "to lose its children", adding that Russia is "preparing for a confrontation by 2030 with our countries".