The SNU caravan, organized throughout France to publicize this system that the government wishes to generalize for young people aged 15 to 17, has seen some of its stages come to an end, especially in Paris where it was interrupted by opponents.
The Universal National Service caravan continues its tour, with a stage on Sunday April 30 in Paris, in the 15e arrondissement. The device, set up and promoted by the government, is aimed at young volunteers between 15 and 17 years old who want to “discover the commitment and the republican values”.
Emmanuel Macron intends to generalize the SNU but he will not make it compulsory “overnight”. The tour, organized throughout France to publicize the device, is regularly disrupted by opponents. Some stages thus came to an end, such as in Nantes, Caen… and Paris.
In Paris, a hundred demonstrators
Thus, Sunday, April 30 in the capital, more than a hundred demonstrators were also present. First at a distance, in front of the André-Citroën park where the SNU caravan has set up.
After an hour, they decide to get closer and arrive at the foot of the stand with their saucepans. CRS block between the caravan and the demonstrators. Among them is Alexis, a student.
“The objective of the UNS is to recruit young people aged 16 to 18 when their critical, political mind is not yet developed enough. And it’s dangerous…”
Alongside these young people, teachers, like Emmanuelle Jolé, from the FSU union, who teaches in a primary school in Paris. According to her, educating young people is not the role of the UNS.
“Education cannot be done in a military way”
“Citizenship education can only be done within the republican framework of the school, she points out. So from primary school to university, within the public service: it is only within this framework that one can have an education in a critical sense. This is what we fear from the SNU: formatting the youth. Education cannot be done in an authoritarian or military way.”
On the other side of the barriers, on the fairly empty stand, Christelle Lafon, SNU referent at the Ministry of National Education. She denounces the prejudices around this device.
“There is no recruitment, it’s very virtuous: they learn first aid, how to manage a budget, how to put out a fire, there are sporting events. It’s very rich!”
Christine Lafonat franceinfo
“In the military aspect that some have pointed out, it is the duty of memory, and not the military aspect that some want to show”, assures Christelle Lafon. And beyond the SNU, what is criticized here is the whole policy of Emmanuel Macron, with pension reform in mind.
A disturbed presentation of the SNU in Paris: report by Aurore Richard
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