Five years after the launch of the universal national service, the Court of Auditors has issued its first assessment. The generalization of the SNU to an entire age group would cost billions of euros, which would be difficult to justify in an era of budgetary savings.
The generalization of the universal national service has been hit by a snag. “A priority project of the government”, the SNU was an electoral promise of Emmanuel Macron. This “cohesion” stay in 2nd gradende followed by a “mission of general interest” had been carried out at its beginnings, in 2019, by the then very young Secretary of State for Youth Gabriel Attal. Promised to be generalized to an entire age group (800,000 students) at the start of the 2026 school year, the SNU has just undergone a close examination by the Court of Auditors. And its conclusion is unequivocal: “At this stage, and more than four years after the start of the system, it is clear that the SNU ‘experiment’, carried out in a hurry and without adequate tools, has not made it possible to prepare for the change of scale that would constitute a generalization to an entire age group.”
Unclear objectives, except for the Ministry of Education
The grievances that financial magistrates formulate against the SNU are numerous. Objectives “uncertain” et “blurry” First. Despite the denials of the Minister of Education Nicole Belloubet, in her response to the Court – “I would like to point out that the objectives of the SNU have been perfectly clear and known since the beginning and remain unchanged: to create a nation, to strengthen social cohesion, to offer a path of commitment to young people” – for the judges, “It is clear that in terms of social diversity and commitment, the ambitions of the system have not been achieved”.
Read alsoSNU: A flammable subject
They note on the one hand that only 5% of the volunteers at the SNU are young people living in disadvantaged neighborhoods (the political neighborhoods of the city). They also note that young people come to “meet people” or “to enhance a line on their CV”They also report that certain supervisors, educators or judges, “thought it was some kind of detention or reform center for minors”…In its response to the Court,[…]
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- challenges.fr
