Civic service: the cure for all ills?

News

When on 7 January the Kouachi brothers slaughtered the editorial team of Charlie Hebdo in just a few minutes, France was left in a state of shock.

The shock deepened when over the next few hours the media built up a portrait of the two young terrorists. Born in France and educated in the schools of the Republic, Chérif and Saïd Kouachi nonetheless became radicalised.

Since then, to strengthen national cohesion and adherence to all republican values, some politicians would like to make civic service compulsory. The idea appears to be an attractive one, as according to an Odoxa survey, published on 31 January, eight out of ten French citizens say they are in favour.

At a press conference, held on Thursday 5 February, President François Hollande finally announced his decision. The measure, presented as the missing link of citizenship, will be greatly expanded but not made compulsory.

Established by the law of March 10 2010, civic service enables young people between the ages of 16 and 25, without any requirement for academic qualifications, to carry out assignments of general interest.

At the time it was introduced, the aim was to fill the gap left by the abolition of compulsory military service in 1997, long considered a tool of integration and social diversity.

Civic service is voluntary and is carried out under the aegis of the public authorities or state registered associations. The assignments usually last between six and ten months. The young person concerned is neither an employee nor an unpaid worker. They are voluntary workers who receive expenses totalling €573 per month.

According to a study by TNS Sofres in March 2013, 86 per cent of former volunteers are satisfied with their assignments and 95 per cent recommend the experience.

27-year-old Marie-Emmanuelle is a case in point. In 2005, this young woman spent one year with the Catholic association Secours catholique. “At the time I had just finished my teacher training. I wanted to have a break and see if it was really the job I wanted to do.” According to Marie-Emmanuelle, civic service helped her “discover a reality” that she didn’t know.

“I saw material poverty up close and it opened my eyes to the reality of life for some people in France today” she said.

In a report dated February 2014, the Court of Auditors noted that six months after their civic service, 75 per cent of volunteers were studying, working or in training, compared to 63 per cent beforehand.

Lack of social diversity

The Head of State has promised that everyone who applies for civic service will be accepted, as from 1 June. At present, only one candidate in five is accepted. Taking on 170,000 to 180,000 young people however (the government’s estimate) will have major budgetary implications.

And it is a very attractive measure. As soon as it was created in 2010, 6000 young people took part in civic service. Two years later, there were 20,000 and last year 35,000. At the end of 2014, the National Assembly had to vote for an extension of the budget to enable 45,000 young people to have access to civic service in 2015. It now costs the state €150 million.

In addition to the financial question however, there is also the question of social diversity.

A look at the figures shows that the beneficiaries are not necessarily those who need it most.

This led the Court of Auditors to comment that “the objectives in terms of social diversity have only been partially met.” Only 25 per cent of those who are taken on have not reached baccalauréat level, which is a long way from the target of 35 per cent set in 2014.

According to the same report, the proportion of volunteers from the priority “urban policy” neighbourhoods is only 17.7 per cent, and there are very few minors (2.5 per cent in 2012). “The reason for this could be that the associations are very reluctant to take them on, particularly those who have dropped out of education,” notes the Court of Auditors.

The Minister for Urban Affairs, Patrick Kanner, is one of the few to have raised this shortcoming, in an interview given to the Le Figaro newspaper. In his view “100 per cent of applications for civic service from the suburbs must be accepted. […] giving more to these young people who have less is, I believe, essential.”

This article has been translated from French.