Macron’s plan to move right: School uniforms, national service and more babies

PARIS — In an appeal for traditionalist right-wing support, President Emmanuel Macron wants the French to produce more babies, perform mandatory national service and go back to wearing school uniforms.

Facing an increasingly tough popularity contest against Marine Le Pen's far-right National Rally, Macron is making a bid to "restore authority" and said during a wide-ranging press conference late Tuesday the country had "relearn to share values, a common culture and civility, in schools and in public."

The French president announced plans to crack down on children's screen time; implement mandatory art history and drama classes, as well as graduation ceremonies in high schools; and expressed support for teaching the national anthem in elementary schools.

He also detailed the need to increase birth rates in order to "strengthen" France, pledging to reform the parental leave system and put in place measures to address low birth rates. In 2023, France's fertility rate was an average of 1.68 children per woman, against 1.79 in 2022.

Macron confirmed two other long-expected measures: mandatory national service for teenagers and a trial period for school uniforms, set to last until 2026.

Asked by a reporter whether the youngest president in French history was pushing an "old-fashioned" agenda, Macron rejected the label — but insisted on the importance of "order" and "symbols" to restore common values in a "fluid society."

But critics say the proposed measures will do little to strengthen social harmony, and are mostly meant to appeal to conservative voters.

"The founders of France’s public and secular school system never considered having uniforms," said Claude Lelièvre, a historian specialized in French education. The idea, he added, has gained steam within the mainstream French right over the past decades as an attempt to offer a false sense of return to tradition.

Louis Aliot, vice-president of the National Rally, applauded the president's announcement on uniforms, calling it: "A first step toward the return of authority in schools."

Jean-Claude Raux, a French Green member of parliament who penned a report on national service, said Macron's plan for public service for youngsters — based on  a promise he made during his 2017 presidential campaign — "is not meant to appeal to young people, but to nostalgic voters who idealize the past."

Macron, who was elected at 39, is most popular with retirees and people over the age of 65, according to a recent IFOP poll. He has often stressed the importance of his grandmother in his upbringing, and has a penchant for using archaic expressions and dated cultural references.

The Service National Universel (more commonly referred to by its acronym, SNU), launched in 2019, was initially spearheaded by Gabriel Attal, who was youth secretary and earlier this month became France's prime minister. During an initial 12-day "cohesion stay" during their national service, French youth aged 15 to 17 wear France-themed uniforms and start each day with the national anthem and a salute the flag. They also spend their time on sporting activities and civic education.

After the "cohesion days," the expectation is the youngsters follow up with a stint at a state organization or non-governmental organization.

A €2 billion investment

The SNU, which proponents insist should not be confused with military service, is handled jointly by the education and defense ministries.

“A military service is set up to teach a generation how to handle arms and be prepared for war," said Thomas Gassilloud, a member of the pro-Macron coalition and head of the national defense and armed forces committee in the French National Assembly. “This is not the case here.”

“The SNU’s purpose is to bring together young people from all social and geographical backgrounds," Gassilloud continued, underlining how participants are to learn about first aid and public safety skills. “The SNU encourages the youth to serve the public; joining the army can be one way of doing so.”

Since its inception, enrolment in this national service has been voluntary. Participation has consistently been below the government’s stated targets, while publicly available information on who enrolls seems to contradict the official goal of social diversity.

In 2021 and 2022, more than a third of participants were children of police officers, military personnel or firefighters, according to a Senate report. About 20 percent of the fathers of those who enrolled were blue-collar workers — compared with 30 percent of men in French society as a whole.

Raux's separate report on the SNU, which he authored for the French National Assembly where he is a deputy, underlined the program’s "unreasonable" cost. Prisca Thevenot, a spokesperson for the French government and former youth secretary, said Wednesday that making the program mandatory for all 10th-graders would cost around €2 billion. This came despite French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire saying earlier this month France needed to cut "at least" €12 billion in spending for 2025.

"Making the SNU a nationwide program would cost a fortune," Raux told POLITICO, adding that he regretted budgetary discipline "doesn't seem to apply" here.

Macron's announcements also drew backlash from the left, with the leaders of the left-wing France Unbowed movement and French Greens describing the president's speech as "reactionary." In a post on X (formerly Twitter), the European Green Party's co-chair Mélanie Vogel asked for Macron's "martial delusions" to "stop at our wombs" in response to his statements on birth rates.