The conscription or the military service is the requisition by a Contracting State of of its population in order to serve its armed forces. Making following the armies of mercenaries used until the end of the 18th century and preceding the professional army, the modern conscription was mainly developed by the French revolution, with the famous levy in masse of the An II, organized then by the Loi Jourdan.
Today, the majority of the Western States put an end to the conscription, of which the Italy very recently. Only among them the Sweden, the Swiss , the Finland, the Brazil, the Austria and the Germany preserved this system, the France having suspended it in 2001.
The conscription finds its origin in the Antiquité, which made a frequent use of it.
In Algeria
The military service is obligatory for all the men made at old 19 years and not having any disease nor no physical or mental problem. In the event of desertion, the sorrow is two years of prison firm with obligation to make its two obligatory years of service. Called six months of formation have (shooting, physical and moral drive, put in situation of the most unimaginable cases, such as torture or a sudden attack), the two years remainder consists of service in the army on the ground, of civil protection and fight anti-terrorist on the ground.
In Germany
The military service is obligatory in Germany for all the citizens of male sex. (" Wehrpflicht") Called must, either to be useful for nine months in the army, or to carry out a civil service. Although in the beginning the conscription is of nature military, there are today twice more conscripts carrying out a civil service than conscripts carrying out a military service. The women do not form part of the conscripts but can be useful as a volunteer or like professional soldier.
Called not specifying that they are conscientious objectors carry out by defect their military service (" Wehrdienst") in the Bundeswehr (official name of the German army).
The basic drive (" Grundwehrdienst") three months of drive to the combat include/understand then six months of service where the conscript is assigned at a station. The conscript reaches the rank of " normally; Obergefreiter". Throughout service the health care, housing, the food and the train tickets are free. The conscript receive surroundings 9€ per day plus some no-claims bonus.
During their military service the conscripts cannot be deployed abroad against their will. The German contributions in the forces such as the ISAF (International force of Assistance to Safety) in Afghanistan or KFOR (force for Kosovo) to the Kosovo include/understand only professional and voluntary soldiers. The conscripts wishing to take part in such missions must go voluntary for an extension of service.
The constitution German (Grundgesetz or " fundamental law ") stipulate that the Conscientious objection must be made possible. Called can thus consequently choose a " service alternatif" (Wehrersatzdienst). The conscientious objector must affirm in a personal letter his objections to achieve the military service. In this case, the Conscientious objection is generally accepted without any problem. An alternative service is often more practical than a military service since called can continue to live on their premises and not in military barracks.
In 1957, in his Letter with a young catholic , the intellectual Heinrich Böll is vigorously caught of it with the return of the conscription in Germany in the context of the Cold war.
In Belgium
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the military service is repealed.
- After the Second world war the majority of called carried out their military service in the " zone belge" (inter alia around Munich) in Germany (FRG).
- called was called militiamans and formed the militia.
- Some called could carry out their military service:
- like CSOR = candidate warrant officer of reserve.
- like HORN = candidate reserve officer (with the help of a longer military service).
With the Brazil
In this country the service miltaire date of the colonial time where the king of Portugal gave grounds to a captain donee, rich grower escalvagist, the poor colonists had the obligation to defend their harbor offices counter the resistant Indians.
With the Canada
The nationalists Canadian-French opposed the conscription at the time of the two world wars. The Plébiscite of the April 27th 1942 made possible the conscription thanks to the voices of the english-speaking. The Inhabitants of Quebec had decided mainly against.
See:
Great debates in Canada - Conscription in time of war
In France
The national service is one of the myths founders of the French Republic. He was initially baptized “military service”. He goes up with the French revolution, and is the successor of the militia instituted by Louvois. It is the Loi Jourdan-Delbrel which institutes it in 1798.
He knew several forms since the Revolution. In its last form, it became theoretically “universal and levelling”. The February 22nd 1996, the president of the Republic Jacques Chirac announces her decision of professionaliser the armies and to suspend the national service.
The army of conscription and the Republic
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At the time of the Putsch of Algiers in 1961, called refuse to carry out the orders of the official army. Failure of the putsch of the generals pro French Algeria.
History
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Under the Old Mode, the military service is reserved for professionals. Nevertheless, starting from 1688, the king obliges his subjects required provincial militia to supplement its troops; the provincial militiamans (of which the name varied) were often designated by Drawing lot.
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September 5th 1798: with the the Council of the Five hundred, the deputy Jean-Baptiste Jourdan makes vote the law which renders the military service obligatory. The article first of the law states: “Any French is soldier and must himself with the defense of the fatherland”. All the French men must carry out 5 years a military service from 20 to 25 years.
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In 1813, the Napoleonean army is decimated by the Retraite of Russia and the conscription touches from now on young teenagers of less than twenty years. They are called the Marie-Louise, because the decree is signed by the empress Marie-Louise of Austria. See below the novel “the conscript of 1813” of Erckmann-Chatrian.
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Louis XVIII abolishes the law Jourdan, and thus the military service.
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March 10th 1818: recruitment is done by engagement and drawing lot. The service lasts 6 years.
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July 27th 1872: the national service is obligatory and hard 5 years for all the men (other than the women).
The law Jourdan, the draft board and drawing lot
The law Jourdan founds the conscription
On 19 fructidor year VI (September 5th, 1798), the law Jourdan-Debrel bears the name of the general Jourdan (1762-1833) and institutes a permanent obligatory military service. Here are some extracts:
Article 1 - Any French is soldier and must himself with the defense of the fatherland. Out the case of the danger of the fatherland, the army is formed by enrôlement voluntary and the way of the conscription.
Article 2 - The French who, since the eighteen years age achieved until they have thirty years completed, wish to voluntarily enlist to be useful in the Army, are made register on a particular register held for this purpose by the municipal administrations which draw up statement of this inscription…
Article 4 - The legislative Body fixes, by a particular law, the number of the conscript defenders who must be put in line of business.
Article 15 - The military conscription includes/understands all the French since the twenty years age achieved until that twenty-five years completed.
Article 17 - The conscript defenders are divided into five classes: each class includes/understands only the conscripts of the same year. The first class is composed of the French who, with the 1st vendémiaire of each year, finished to them twentieth year.
Article 20 - According to the law which fixes the number of the conscript defenders who must be put in line of business, least old in each class are always the first called to join their flags.
Article 24 - II will be formed in the municipal administrations of commune and canton, of the tables on which all the French of their district will be registered who are included/understood in the military conscription These tables will be made separately, class by class; they will indicate the name, first name, the year, the month, the day of birth, the size, the profession and the commune of residence of the Conscripts.
Article 51 - The requests for exemption due to infirmity or incapacity to be useful, will be made and judged in the forms which will be established by a particular law; but those which will form them, will have to always be included/understood in the tables of the military conscription.
Article 53 - The conscripts called by the law who will not have gone within the prescribed times, will be private exercise of their rights of citizen; they moreover will be continued and punished like deserters…
An imperial decree creates the draft board and the drawing lot
On 8 nivôse year XIII (December 29th 1804), an imperial decree of Napoleon 1st met places from there the draft board and the drawing lot. Here are some extracts:
Article 10 - A mayor or an assistant by commune, an officer of recruitment, the officer of gendarmerie, an officer of health or doctor named by the prefect for each district and taken out of the district, will be held to attend the examination of the conscripts…
Article 11 - (the conscript) will be presented to a measuring apparatus with two amounts, whose cross-piece will be fixed at 1 meter 544 millimetres… if the conscript does not reach the cross-piece, one will register with respect to its name, in the column of the observations, these words: Incompetent, because of his size, to support tirednesses of the war. If the conscript has more than 1 meter 544 millimetres, it will be registered like: Good by the size.
Article 21 - The sub-prefect will carry out designation then, in the following way: one will as many put in a ballot box bulletins carrying each one a different number than there will be conscripts having to contribute to designation; each one of them will be called to draw a ticket. In the event of absence of the conscript called, the ticket will be drawn by the mayor from the Commune…
Article 22 - The number which each conscript will have obtained will be registered beside its name; one will register at the same time his first names, those of his father and mother, his residence, his size and the large features of his description…
Article 23 - As soon as the general order of the numbers is stopped, the sub-prefect will proclaim those which must belong to the regular army; it will be those which will have obtained the first numbers. He will proclaim then the name of those which must belong to the reserve, and finally the name of those which must remain with the deposit…
Drawing lot
Established in 1798, the Conscription was moderated by the institution of the drawing lot (law of the December 29th 1804). Carried out their military service only 30 to 35% of the unmarried or widowed conscripts without child, each canton having to provide only one certain quota of men. So on 100 conscripts of a canton, 35 were to be called, the Draft board was seen obliged " monter" until the number 70 even 80 to find the quota required, taking into account the number of exempted, bread-winners, deferred or reformed. The certain Councils of recovery retained only 25% of deferred and reformed. On the other hand, anticipated liftings and increase in the quotas from 1808 caused much dissatisfaction. The exemption, or reforms, was based on physical criteria. Size initially: it was necessary to measure more than 1,54 meter to be taken. The deformities of the members, frequent followed at that time, and still the weakness of constitution and the problems of sight, the signs of mental deficiency. The right index crossed exempted the conscript of the service because it was inapt for the shooting, which encouraged with self-inflicted injuries. Was added the state of the teeth which were to make it possible to tear the paper cases containing the powder with rifle, proportioned step by step. The law Jourdan exempted the married or widowed men with children. Laws, particularly that of 1872, will contribute to widen the reasons for exemption to the families already marked by the military taking away like with certain notable professions, particularly the teachers and the ecclesiastics. Deferments could be granted to the conscripts because of seasonal work. However, all the conscripts who had drawn a " bad numéro" did not leave; the law of fructidor year VII (August 1799) enabled them to be made replace, renewable possibility in the event of successive liftings.
National service in its modern form in France
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21/03/ 1905 : under the government of Maurice Rouvier, law imposing to personal, equal and obligatory service, prepared by the General Andre, Minister for the war. Its duration is fixed at two years. Introduction of the concept of deferment.
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1913 : the service is carried from two to three years.
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1939 : it is brought back to two years.
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10 1946: the conscription is restored without debate with a one year service.
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1950 : duration of the Service brought back to 18 months.
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21/12/ 1963 : the duration of the service is brought back to 16 month, by decree. Introduction of the concept of Conscientious objection into a law. Appearance of the scientists of the quotas.
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09/07/ 1965 : law Messmer: the service is not any more “soldier”, but “national”. It includes from now on a “service of defense”, and two civil forms, the technical assistance and the co-operation. The draft boards are replaced by the centers of selection and famous “the three days”.
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09/07/ 1970 : law on the national service, bringing back its duration to one year. The deferments are removed, in an attempt to restore an equality already questioned. The call is done between 18 and 21 years.
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10/06/ 1971 : law bearing Debré Codes National service: four forms are distinguished, the military service, the service of defense, the technical assistance and the co-operation (the 2 last last 16 month). Following the protest of the student mediums, the deferments are restored little by little.
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08/ 1976 : signature of the first protocol enters the ministry for defense and that of the War veterans: from now on, called quota will be used with other tasks that the military tasks, by the means of procedures which do not have any legal existence.
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08/07/ 1983 : the national service in the gendarmerie receives its final form. The statute of conscientious objector is not clearly defined, it is not from now on any more but one clearly codified alternative of the national service. The automatic initial carryforwards up to 22 years are created.
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07/08/ 1985 : creation of a civil service in the police force.
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04/01/ 1992 : law Joxe: the duration of the military service passes in ten months, that of the service of the objectors in 20 months. The civil service replaces the service of defense. First protocols city.
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22/02/ 1996 : Jacques Chirac, Head of the State, announces “its decision” of professionnaliser the armies. It lets imply that the only solution is to remove the obligatory conscription definitively, and that it will have to be replaced by a voluntariate. It launches however a “great national debate”. Its Prime Minister Alain Juppe and his Minister for Defense Charles Million are in load of the file.
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23/05/ 1996 : the mission of information of the National Assembly returns his information paper, “France and its service”, known as “Séguin report/ratio”. This report/ratio devotes nearly 40 pages (out of 170) to underline the deficiencies of the step of the government, as well as the absence of true debate on the National service, and the absence of real consultation of the Parliament. Moreover he expresses “the most formal reservations as well over the duration as on the methods of the six years transitional period”…
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28/05/ 1996 : end of the “great debate”. The Head of the State announces the content of the reform of the National service. Right now, it is known that the young people born before 1979 will continue to carry out a service “old formula”, of which the “duration will be gradually reduced”. They are victims of a “disparity of destiny and obligation”, but “the needs for defense impose it to us”.
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06/ 1996 : the military law of programming (96-589) is deposited at the assemblies. It is adopted, after emergency declaration, on June 20th, and is published in the official journal on July 2nd.
It fixes the duration of the transition between army from conscription and professional army at 6 years, as well as the budget allocated with this transition. One does not know yet which will be the new form of the national service.
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16/11/ 1996 : a first bearing bill reforms at the national service, in particular by instituting the appointment citizen one week old and suspending the conscription is deposited at the assemblies by Charles Million. The project will be discussed in the months which come.
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21/04/ 1997 : Jacques Chirac announces the dissolution of the National Assembly.
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02/06/ 1997 : Lionel Jospin (PS) is named Prime Minister. The 4, Alain Richard deals with defense.
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22/09/ 1997 : with the National Assembly, discussion and adoption in first reading, after emergency declaration, of a new bearing bill National service, the Million project reforms having been abandoned.
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21/10/ 1997 : Adoption of the law carrying reform of SN, by the Parliament.
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28/10/ 1997 : Promulgation of the law by the Head of the State.
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29/10/ 1997 : The Constitutional council, charged to come to a conclusion about the respect of the constitution, records the sasine of 62 senators. Too much late. Sasine must take place before the promulgation so that the council can decide…
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08/11/ 1997 : Publication of law 97-1019 bearing reforms National service with the Official journal. This law founds:
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It is not expected that the duration is gradually reduced, contrary to what had been announced by the President.
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12/1999 : as envisaged, the revolt starts. Called the feet trail. Insubordinations increase, but they are made up by exemptions “P3”: psychological problems, and of the vacation disease (PATC). Petitions circulate on Internet, collecting tens of thousands of signatures.
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29/03/ 2000 : the collective “SansNous” is created. Federating the last conscripts provisionally exempted, it is fixed like objective to make anticipate the end of the National service and to put an end to the legal proceedings which could be committed against the deserters and unsubmissive person.
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21/06/ 2000 : in reaction to the actions of the last conscripts provisionally exempted, the Minister for Defense announces in front of the National Assembly that the holders of TDCI from now on will be exempted in fact.
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06/11/ 2000 : the Minister for Defense, Mr. Alain Richard, announced measurements of valorization for the last called at the National service: early release at the end of 8 months of service for called finding a TDCI for this period and a premium of 4.000F for those which will go at the end of the 10 months.
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27/06/ 2001 : the Council of Ministers launches a fine decree putting at the conscription, anticipating the end of the transitional period of almost a year. Called the soldiers already under the flags all are released at November 30th, 2001, each quota carrying out one month of service in less than the preceding quota. The last conscientious objectors are released in July 2002.
Festivals of the conscripts
In many communes (generally rural), called demonstrations organized before their departures. Although the National service is suspended, these festive traditions organized by the young people (called Conscrit S) perdurent.
Expressions relating to the service
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the skittle
- Called of the quota
- Coopé
- reformed P4: reformed on psychological grounds incompatible with the military service
- three days: days of evaluations before the military service in Center of Selection and orientation.
- VSL (voluntary service-length), PESO (group of the pupils warrant officers), PEG (group of the graded pupils), FETTA (formation elementary all weapons: the 1st month of classes)
- Roadmap
- To leave under the flags
- permission: leave
- release: end of the military service
- conscript provisionally exempted
- bidasse: soldier
- guerroyer
- ordinary (the canteen) the
- chart SMA (active military service)
- nicknames of called (the 12 months service: of 1970 with 1992), to note that the new ones called arrive every 2 months.
- blue fucks (from 0 to 2 months of seniority): period of the " classes"
- blue or bittard (from 2 to 4 months)
- pierrot (from 4 to 6 months) - the " father cent" at 100 days of old service
- (from 6 to 8 months)
- quillard (from 8 to 10 months)
- releasable (from 10 to 12 months)
- Zero
- “the military service is one period when one eats very badly, but who nourishes the conversations for all the life”
Songs
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Jacques Brel: “With the following”
- Boris Vian: “the deserter”
- Renaud: “The deserter” (adaptation of the homonymous song of Boris Vian)
Novel
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Erckmann-Chatrian, History of a conscript of 1813 , Paris: Hetzel, 1883
In Israel
See also: Military service (Israel)
With the Lebanon
See also: Lebanese Army
The obligatory military service was brought back from 12 to 6 months on May 4th, 2005, and must be removed within 2 year as from this date. The February 10th 2007, the military service was officially removed.
With the the United Kingdom
Bertrand Russell was imprisoned during the First World War because of its participation in the movement anti-conscription.
In Swiss
The conscription is the base of the Swiss army.
Alternatives to the obligatory military service
See also: Civil service
See too
Related articles
- military Conscientious objector
- Reserve
- Conscript Civil service
External bonds
- National service and professional army, problems, costs respective
- History of the military service
- Military service in Germany
- Collective SansNous
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