Voluntary civil service (France) - SpeedyLook encyclopedia

The difficult gestation of a new republican institution

Indeed, this news and essential republican institution had been already promised in 1996 by same Jacques Chirac when it amorçait, with the general surprise, the suspension of the obligatory military service.

But in the following years and under the crook of successive governments, the implementation of a " civil service volontaire" had then run up against the complexity and the slowness of the reform of the national service (1997-2002). To the detriment of the whole of young French and their capacities to be begun in creation of community properties through innovating associative projects, these difficulties and delays are also explained by many reserves vis-a-vis the voluntariates considered by certain decision makers as under-wage-earning being freed from any reference to the torn off labor regulation of long fight…

Worse still, the political community - if startled by the riots of November 2005 - does not seem to be itself much worried since 1996 to follow the state of the implementation of this new republican institution charged to develop and encourage good citizenship near the young people in their offering a statute and means of acting within the framework of projects of general interest (no parliamentary reports on the subject…).

Several deputies, without studying the difficulties of development of voluntariates - voluntary civil services, deposited private bills successively relating to the creation of formulas of " service civil" or " service civique" under consideration like volunteers or obligatory…

Towards a " Civil service universel" … voluntary or obligatory?

November 17th, 2005, in answer to Jacques Chirac and by the expression of a total skepticism on the recourse to the " volontariat" citizenship good citizenship, the weekly magazine the Life published its " Call for a civic service obligatoire" who was quickly to gather many political signatures in the context of major crisis which reigned then. The echo of this call crosses the majority of the political programs of the candidates to the presidential elections of 2007, more or less venturing to take up the idea, moderate by the principle of an experimental phase resting on voluntariate… A Collective for an Alternative to the Obligatory Civic service was constituted to be opposed to temptation obligation born slownesses of the installation of the voluntary civil service since 1996.

The emergence of a pallet of specific statutes of voluntariates

Far from effects of the transitory and contradictory advertisements ballotant any hope of development of the " voluntariates - civil services volontaires" , in the shade of an quasi-absence of public finances which are dedicated to them, of the statutory devices of voluntariates started to set up itself despite everything, in particular following the suspension of the military service become fully effective in 2002:

civil Voluntariate of social cohesion and solidarity (integral part of the new national service, from now on voluntary): the young people concerned (18-28 years) engage for one six months period, renewable within the 24 months limit and take part, mainly within the framework of associations, with useful actions for the community; allowance of approximately 630 euros per month; the young people interested ones and the reception facilities must contact a service indicated by the Prefect of department (unfortunately, certain Prefectures are very late on this implementation); in an exemplary way, the Prefecture of Paris put on line the necessary informations as well as or the application application forms on its site headings " Démarches" then " Citoyenneté" , then " Civil voluntariate of cohesion sociale" ; because constitutive of the new national service, statute of public law, this voluntariate deserves an special attention and the priority implication of all the actors concerned, per hour when the project of " civil service universel" gain the opinion of the political principal parties… With of not doubting, it constitutes the alternative to a " civic service obligatoire" far too adventurous…

more largely and apart from any bond with the new national service, but in a more precarious way (reached a maximum monthly allowance, but not of minimum…) the " voluntariate associatif" created in 2006 on the initiative of the Ministry for Youth, the Sports and Community life, is accessible as of 16 years and unbounded of age higher as long as the retirement was not reached; the Ministry created a site devoted to this new whole and extremely flexible statute private of voluntariate;

the " voluntariate of solidarity internationale" was also reinforced these last years while passing from a mode framed by a simple decree (known as of 1995) with a genuine legal framework adopted in 2005; main associations partners of the implementation of this voluntariate are gathered within the Clong-Voluntariate auprès whose many information can be obtained;

Of other voluntary civil voluntariate-services exists (European voluntary Service, Volontaires of the United Nations, etc), but the three preceding devices are principal voluntariates that the " civil service volontaire" comes to reinforce by a complementary approval (the reception facilities must in any event be approved under various voluntariates in complement of approval " civil service volontaire"), n the other hand bringing engagement reinforced accompaniment citizenship (limited however to the young people from 16 to 25 years), a substantial financing (90% of the allowance + an assumption of responsibility of the cost of the teaching accompaniment). This financing appears essential for the development of voluntariates voluntary civil services, and its absence hitherto partly explains the quasi-unimportant character of the development of voluntariates these last years… The competition of the " aidés" employment; proposed with insistence on associations (used regularly as basin of regulation of massive unemployment) not allowing absolutely to retain the interest of associations from the purely administrative point of view.

The " Civil service volontaire" perfectible embryo of joint base of voluntariates

Thus, the " civil service volontaire" from now on founded comes to encourage and support principal voluntariates constituting of serious occasions offered to the young people (but not only) to invest itself in an activity with strong utility and collective valorization (environmental protection, solidarity, humanitarian aid,…).

You will find the description of the certification relating to the " civil service volontaire" on the governmental site of the Voluntary civil service

It appears however the press, upon reading, that the device, while taking again the fundamental teaching principles of voluntariates, is articulated with other devices in a heteroclite way (including certain helped employment which, them does not raise of voluntariate but of wage-earning), while allowing, inter alia, to the young people to pass by the army (" Defense, second chance"), or the police force (" Juniors by République").

A certain confusion can be born from this too hasty assembly and undoubtedly that the new presidential and legislative mandature which will result from the polls of 2007 will have to clarify this unit. It is not useless to recall that the National council of Community life (CNVA) had decided since 1998 in favor of the introduction of a " law cadre" on voluntariates…

Discusses - Which stakes of public policies as regards citizenship?

Time undoubtedly had just given on the trade of the Republic such a project in order to specify the civic legitimacy of voluntariates, and, perhaps, to draw aside the recourse well too risky to a " civic service obligatoire" the solid masses and unforeseeable side effects are likely to produce the reverse of the result sought by disgusting the young people of a good citizenship imposed on order in missions massively organized without any taking into account of the individual motivations…

It comes out from this unit that, far from being completed, the republican gestation of the " civil service volontaire" is heavy direction and stakes. To pass from a " citizenship of sacrifice" (military service of formerly) with a " citizenship of participation" (the accent related by voluntariates to the importance to be personally an actor of its engagement citizen)… Thus apprehended, it is not a small matter and the whole of the French political culture is hustled by this emergence of true statutes giving to the citizen lambda the possibility of more showing of courage and audacity in an engagement of general interest full-time and apart from any strategy professional path… The general interest does not concern only decrees and other government decisions: it rests initially and above all on the initiative of each one among us… " voluntariates - civil services volontaires" make neither more nor less than to answer such stakes… The extent of the phenomenon is so deep that it will take us years to measure the importance of it and to clearly see of them the features in the contemporary evolutions of company…

External bonds

Law on the associative voluntary service
File of the Express train on the current devices of integration of the Army
Association for the promotion of the civil service
Unicity, association which proposes its own voluntary service since 1995
Animafac, network of 10.000 associations coeds in which it is possible to make its voluntary civil service
Agence for Studied Voluntariate, of the missions of civil service everywhere in France
civil service in Switzerland
Faire its Voluntary civil service with the League of Teaching
Faire its voluntary civil service at the French Red Cross
Voluntary Social service on E-tud.com
It site gate and non-governmental of all voluntariates - voluntary civil services

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