It's a bit of a twist: on January 16, the Senate voted by an overwhelming majority to eliminate almost all of the funds allocated to the Universal National Service (UNS). This program, designed to instill in French youth a spirit of commitment and a shared civic culture, ultimately never succeeded in seducing or convincing.
Beyond political divisions, a transpartisan alliance was formed to withdraw the 100 million euros planned for the 2025 budget. Even worse for the system, the majority of these funds (80 million) was redirected to a completely different area. : sport, considered a higher priority after the Olympic Games. For Éric Jeansannetas, socialist senator and rapporteur, “ the SNU does not provide sufficient added value after five years of experimentation “. It must be said that there have been criticisms since the launch of this project by Emmanuel Macron in 2019: a lack of centers to accommodate young people, insufficient number of supervisors, and above all a generalization estimated between 3.5 and 5 billion euros per year. year, according to the Court of Auditors.
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A staggering bill for a system whose ambitions for social diversity remain a dead letter, the participation of young people being mainly from privileged backgrounds. The dream of universal civic engagement for 15-17 year olds seems to be collapsing under the weight of practical and budgetary constraints. “ It's time to end this experiment », says Pierre-Antoine Lévi, centrist senator, while his socialist counterpart Yan Chantrel greets with irony “ the end of a program as costly as it is useless ».
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The Minister of Youth, Marie Barsacq, however tried to save what could be saved, promising adjustments and the launch of an interministerial working group to rethink the system. But this last minute defense did not find a favorable response. The National Assembly, already hostile to the SNU this fall, also seems ready to ratify its suppression. And unless there is forceful passage via article 49.3, the government may well have to bury this idea.
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Attal wanted to generalize the SNU in 2026
Emmanuel Macron's campaign promise, the Universal National Service, launched in 2019, aimed to be generalized to 15-17 year olds from the start of the 2026 school year, according to the commitments of former Prime Minister Gabriel Attal. The program included a « general interest mission » and a « cohesion stay »combining sporting, cultural and intellectual activities. The days, punctuated by the raising of colors and the wearing of uniforms, were to embody a new form of civic engagement for young people.
