” Rest. Take care of yourself ! RIGHT ! By column, unbox! » They carry out their actions with a still uncertain, almost timid step this Wednesday, May 8, 2024, under the gaze of their parents and the prefect. These twenty-seven young Indians are between 16 and 17 years old and they have decided to carry out their universal national service, the SNU. For the second phase of the three-stage service, the so-called “general interest” mission, they joined the gendarmerie cadets. A smoothly carried out operation, they leave with their “citizen education” certificate, in the shadow of the prefectural residence.
“Young people need to be supervised”
Of the few young people approached this Wednesday, all are planning a career in the army, in the internal security forces or even with the firefighters. Yves, 16, high school student in Jean-Giraudoux, is one of them: “I have been attracted to the army since I was littlehe said, in particular by the Paris firefighters.” In the meantime, he saw in the SNU a first door to commitment, and another mention on his CV. This is also the case for Kévann, 17, who once considered doing military preparation at the end of his cohesion course (first stage of the SNU) and who is now thinking of the police. “It’s a privilege to be here this morning”the two teenagers agree.
Yves (foreground) hopes to become a Paris firefighter once he finishes high school.
© (Photo NR, Manuela Thonnel)
“Something useful for society”
Astrid, 16 years old, “always wanted to be a police officer” : “I did my cohesion internship in Marseille (Bouches-du-Rhône). I discovered the Air Force, the Navy, the mobile gendarmes, etc., she lists. For the second stage of the SNU, I immediately chose the gendarmerie cadets and I am not disappointed. I want to do something useful for society. »
For a volunteer from the gendarmerie cadet association: “We see that young people need to be supervised. » “A participant told me that she had been disappointed with her cohesion courseshe reports, because she expected to find more discipline. »
In this “cohort”, four of the twenty-seven young people arrived with the desire to take the gendarmerie non-commissioned officer exam. There were eleven of them a few months later, reports Paulette Picard, president of the Indre gendarmerie cadet association. “It is important that we have young people committedcomments the prefect of Indre, Thibault Lanxade, and to prepare consciences for difficult times, as we have already had on our territory, and recently, at the time of the attacks. »
This participation in the SNU is also for the prefect the “mark of parental wire guidance”while young people and the education provided by their parents have recently been “implicated” in the phenomena of violence and delinquency, he underlines. Again on April 18, the Prime Minister, Gabriel Attal, spoke of the responsibility of “failing parents” during his trip to Viry-Châtillon.
The prefect of Indre, Thibault Lanxade, welcomed the young people who have “begun to build their civic commitment”.
© (Photo NR, Manuela Thonnel)
Then, the gendarmerie cadets take the path to the square du Général-de-Gaulle in an orderly line to participate in the commemoration of 79e anniversary of the Victory of May 8, 1945.
The gendarmerie cadets carried out a cleaning operation in military square 14-18 of the Saint-Denis cemetery, Tuesday April 23, 2024. They thus revived 254 graves.
© (Photo from French Souvenir)
Their next mission will begin later, when each person has chosen the subject of their voluntary commitment of three months to one year, the third and final phase of the SNU. They can then move towards young firefighters, associations, a civic service, the operational reserve of the national police, the gendarmerie or the army.
Several axes around citizenship and commitment
The Indre gendarmerie cadets were created in 2021 to receive young people in universal national service. For twelve days spread over the school holidays, they make several visits and participate in workshops supervised by the association’s volunteers.
This year, the twenty-seven teenagers visited the national sports shooting center, met ex-footballer Dominique Bijotat… “We took advantage of the holding of the Olympic Gamesunderlines Paulette Picard, to ask them about what the Marseillaise represents when you are an athlete. »
They also received a visit from France addiction, on the themes of addiction, met the soldiers of the surveillance and intervention platoon of the Issoudun gendarmerie, those of the air transport gendarmerie brigade of the airport of Chateauroux. In April, gendarmerie cadets cleaned 254 graves in military square 14-18 of the Saint-Denis cemetery.
