In 2023, the French army ended up with 3,000 unfilled positions. With the urgency of the geopolitical context, Sébastien Lecornu, Minister of the Armed Forces, presented Monday measures to attract and keep recruits, without excluding back and forth with the civilian sector.
:quality(50)/2024/03/04/fanny-guinochet-65e60267ebb86457775765.png)
Published
Update
Reading time: 2 min
:quality(50)/2024/03/19/maxnewsworldsix176376-65f934b951808948383359.jpg)
As we have seen on posters in the metro or advertisements on television, the army is looking to recruit. To attract talent, Sébastien Lecornu, Minister of the Armed Forces, announced on Monday March 18 a whole series of provisions, including an increase in pensions and pay, which was something eagerly awaited by the military.
At the start of 2025, he commits in particular to ensuring that all non-commissioned officer grids are reviewed. While initially this revaluation was planned to be spread over three years, the ministry decided to accelerate. Another point eagerly awaited by soldiers: the taking into account of part of their bonuses in the calculation of their retirement. The ministry responded favorably and released an envelope of 75 million euros annually. The measure must be effective within two years.
Improve living conditions and enable mobility between the public and private sectors
The plan also contains a housing component and this is important, because according to the General Staff of the Armed Forces itself, barely a quarter of the housing stock is considered in good condition in the bases and regiments. These accommodation conditions hinder vocations, especially since lifestyles have changed. Young people no longer necessarily want to settle in a barracks, even less when they start to start a family. The army therefore promises to make an effort to rehabilitate these housing units. More generally, she promises to be more attentive to the well-being of her troops.
Indeed, this sector like others suffers from a problem of employee retention. There are many departures and This is one of the main problems of the army: it has difficulty retaining its soldiers. She trains them, then, after a few months or a few years, the young people leave for the private sector.
To retain them, the army is considering encouraging mobility, better meeting their aspirations in terms of assignment, and even facilitating travel back and forth between the armies and the civilian sector. The idea is really to retain them, particularly those whose very specialized skills are very sought after by private companies, such as cyber engineers, or intelligence professions.