Two supervisors imposed a session of fist pumps, in the gravel, on participants, who protested. A punishment in principle prohibited and a conflict which illustrates two opposing visions of the SNU.
Between “sense of commitment” and military culture, the Universal National Service (SNU) is searching for itself, at the risk of sometimes getting lost. Two frames of one center of Haute-Savoie were sanctioned, during a stay organized in June, for having forced three boys to do push-ups on their fists, in the gravel, franceinfo learned. The participants “were not assaulted or injured, but we wanted to mark the occasion with the dismissal of these executives, because this remains unacceptable and does not comply with the regulations”, justifies Fabien Basset, head of the Departmental Service for Youth, Engagement and Sports (SDJES), who pronounced the sanction.
One Wednesday evening, after a classical music concert, Clémence, a 24-year-old SNU supervisor, organizes a “internal democracy” (time for discussion with volunteers) in a girls’ room. Startled by a noise in the corridor, the tutor opens the door and surprises Théo* and Paul* coming out of a neighboring room, whose occupants were absent at that time,according to information collected by franceinfo. As the center’s welcome booklet specifies, “minor infractions of the regulations are subject to punishments aimed at holding volunteers accountable”. Clémence suggests that the boys take care of “clean the horse boxes”.
“We knew it was forbidden”
In the meantime, Maxime* and Pascal*, two executives, Clémence’s hierarchical superiors, joined the discussion, as well as a third volunteer who came to denounce himself. He suggests doing push-ups. “We quickly understood that he had not been in the room at all, Clémence explains. He wanted to do push-ups because he had done them other nights in the hallway, and because he is someone who likes a physical challenge.” According to the tutor, Pascal accepts the braggart’s proposal. However, several supervisors tell franceinfo that they learned during their training that “pumps” were not part of the planned sanctions.
Pascal orders the young people “to go put on their sports shoes”. Outside, the three volunteers, accompanied by the two executives, were then forced to do fist pumps. First on tarmac, then on gravel. “With Paul, we got angry because we knew it was forbidden,” Theo testifies. The center’s welcome booklet specifies that “humiliating or vexatious work” are “excluded”.
“We told them it hurt. Maxime said to me: ‘I saw you tougher than that’. Then, he gave me three little flicks on the cheek, so that with my irritation, I would gets there. I know that in the army, it works like that.”
Théo*, volunteerat franceinfo
In a fury, the two young people go back into the rooms. “They were shouting that they had been hit. I felt guilty for not coming down”confides Clémence, who adds that Théo and Paul finally changed their version after a discussion, the same evening, with the executives. “They came back talking about little pats” on the cheek, notes the tutor. According to information collected by franceinfo, the scene was not violent, but “humiliating”.
Previous “drifts”
The next day, members of the management, shocked by the turn of this evening, take the initiative to contact the SDJES. Maxime is excluded for three days, Pascal until the end of the stay. “We identified that one was more of an actor than the other”, justifies Fabien Basset. From franceinfo, Maxime judges that “in the regulations, it is not explicitly mentioned whether push-ups are prohibited or permitted”.
“If I had known it was going to get this big, I wouldn’t have let it happen. But from our point of view, there was nothing dramatic at the time.”
Maxime*, laid-off executiveat franceinfo
Gravel or not, he believes that these are “push-ups as punishment” which led to his exclusion and that of Pascal. He is pointing out that “the little pats on the cheek” of Théo were intended to be encouraging, “in mode it will be fine”. Contacted several times by franceinfo, Pascal refused to speak.
Vanessa, a tutor for the stay, depicts a deleterious atmosphere in this center of Haute-Savoie, which she has not felt anywhere else. “The executives shouted at the kids, as if they needed to be frightened. As soon as there was a little noise in a room, they took them out into the corridor to make them sit up.”reports the young woman. “These executives, to different degrees for each of them, showed an authoritarianism that was not necessary, judges another supervisor. She also greets “the great responsiveness of the department and the accuracy of their analysis of the situation” concerning the exclusion of Maxime and Pascal, but denounces, on the contrary, the wait-and-see attitude of the head of the center.
The head of the center “did not know how to handle the situation”
After the push-up episode“we contacted the SDJES, because we received very ambiguous text messages from the director and his assistant the next morning. They told us that it had to stay between us, to act as if nothing had happened, that we would talk about it in the evening, reports a member of staff about these messages, consulted by franceinfo. I saw it as a way to silence us.” For Vanessa, the director “not‘didn’t know how to handle the situation’.
Questioned by franceinfo, this retired high school principal judges that “the affair was made into mayonnaise” by certain tutors. “Emotion prevailed and the SDJES was notified without my knowledge”, he regrets. He summarizes his thoughts thus: “This punishment was bullshit, I don’t know what went through their minds. But did the exclusion of the executives have any demonstrative value with the volunteers? I’m not sure. It was enough to calm spirits and we continued our stay without problem.”
Outside of the punishing evening, Théo insists that he “loved the atmosphere in the rooms and the activities” proposed by the SNU. He adds that “Maxime sincerely apologized” for the pumps. No information has been communicated to franceinfo on the return, or not, of the two executives during future stays.
“It’s the opposition between two worlds”
This case illustrates a gap between two visions of what the UNS should be, carried by supervisors with very different experiences (corps in uniform, summer camps, National Education). The evening in question split the group in two for the rest of the stay. “There was a division of the team according to the experiences of each: the supervisors close to the military culture were offended by the exclusion, the others found that it was normal in view of the events”, notes Clemence. A member of the police for the rest of the year, Maxime admits: “It’s the opposition between two worlds. Do something square or play it cool? I don’t know which is better.”
“Through my professional experience and the education I received, respect for the rules is a benchmark for me.”
Maxime*, laid-off executiveat franceinfo
Maxime also assures that among the volunteers, some arrive with an erroneous vision of the SNU. “They think it’s the army, that they’re going to do the obstacle course and push-ups”he assures. “These young people were in demand of what they imagine to be the military world, and the managers were unable to refuse this request or manage it properly”, shade Fabien Basset. For Vanessa, “We cannot make generalizations either. on the presence of bodies in uniform, because “there are centers where this is going very well”.
During these cohesion stays, the military culture springs through several daily rituals, such as the raising of the colors, the singing of The Marseillaise or wearing a uniform. Since July 2022, the Secretary of State in charge of Youth and the UNS – previously Sarah El Haïry, then Prisca Thevenot since July 20 – has also carried out her duties with two ministries: National Education and the Armies.
The credibility of the program has recently been undermined by other cases, which have been brought before the courts. In April, Politics revealed cases of sexual harassment, racist remarks, humiliations and inappropriate gestures by executives on tutors and volunteers, in the summer of 2022 in Ile-de-France. According to AFP, former Secretary of State Sarah El Haïry contacted the public prosecutor. Another case, reported by Marianne in April, gave rise to an investigation for “aggravated sexual assault” targeting a supervisor of the Universal National Service, in Marne.
“The SNU will allow us to have young people prepared for all dangers”, promised the head of state in January. After having considered making it compulsory for a while, the government now prefers to discuss the “generalization” of a system always based on volunteering. “There would be nothing worse than forcing a young person to go to the SNU, it would be counterproductive,” assured Prisca Thevenot, at the beginning of August, on franceinfo. We still need to attract volunteers. Out of 600,000 young people eligible each year, 32,000 participated in 2022 and 40,000 are registered in 2023.
* First names have been changed to preserve the anonymity of the witnesses.