Soldiers from the 24e The Vincennes Infantry Regiment, the Army's only reserve regiment, during Exercise Vulcain, held in the Allier region from 30 October to 3 November 2023.
Antoine Delaunay/DICoD/Ministère des Armées
A baker during the week, a soldier on patrol for Operation Sentinelle at the weekend, or a communications officer in the civilian world and assistant to a spokesperson in the Navy: these are just two examples of the kind of commitment that the French armed forces reserve provides. By 31 December, more than 40,000 men and women will have signed up to the Operational Reserve (OR), alongside the country's 200,000 active servicemen and women. This support is slightly more feminised than in the professional army. In fact, 22.6% of its personnel are women (and even 33% among new arrivals), compared with 16.8% in the active army.
To meet the President's ambition, the armed forces have developed a dedicated strategy: the "Reserves Plan 2035" (PR35). It formalises the various processes that will lead to achieving the objective of increasing the number of reserves, as well as upgrading their quality. The aim is to adapt the format of the French armed forces to the new geostrategic situation and to changes in society. 3,800 new volunteers will be recruited in 2024, 4,000 a year in 2025 and 2026, 6,000 in 2027 and 2028, and 8,000 in 2029 and 2030. The number of volunteers will therefore have doubled in seven years. And by 2035, the number should even reach 105,000, giving a ratio of one reservist for every two active servicemen.
"A MAJOR CHALLENGE FOR THE ARMED FORCES
"This is a major challenge for the armed forces", comments Brigadier General Frédéric Barbry, head of the national cohesion division (in charge of the reserves, youth, relations with the national education system and with companies) at the Armed Forces General Staff (EMA), and Joint Delegate for the Reserves (DIAR). "This is a major undertaking that represents a real break with the past, a paradigm shift in the way the reserves are used within the armed forces.
"The reserves, because there are several of them. The Citizens' Defence and Security Reserve (RCDS) currently comprises 4,200 volunteers in civilian dress, whose commitment (with no age limit) is supported by prestigious ambassadors such as astronaut Thomas Pesquet (for the French Air Force), Michelin-starred chef Thierry Marx (French Foreign Legion) and basketball player Boris Diaw (French Navy). The general staff are currently working on measures "to make better use of this reserve at the right level", says General Barbry.
The RO is divided into two categories: the second level (RO2) concerns 60,000 former active servicemen, who are obliged to be available for 5 years after leaving the service. "Today, this reserve is still under-utilised," notes the general officer. "Our aim is therefore to upgrade it so that we have a strategic reserve that has already been trained and is capable of consolidating active units and regenerating them, if necessary, in the event of a major conflict. Passed last summer, the 2024-2030 Military Programming Act already allows for an increase in the duration and use of call-up for these reservists, from 5 to 25 days' call-up over five years.
CONTRIBUTION OF SKILLS, PROTECTION OF THE TERRITORY...
The other category, most affected by the exponential increase, is the Primary Operational Reserve (RO1): volunteers who put their skills at the service of the armed forces in return for payment, wearing uniforms and whose age limit for enlistment has just been raised to 72. They sign a contract lasting from 1 to 5 years.
Thanks to the increase in these numbers, the use of the armed forces reserve will be increased on a daily basis and its missions renewed in three areas: protection of the territory, intervention alongside the active forces, and contribution of skills.
Depending on the missions to be carried out, the armed forces draw on one of the two segments making up the RO1 :
- the individual supplementsThese currently account for 60% of the total. In 2024, this reserve is set to continue, with the integration of more skills reserves. These individual additions will continue to contribute to the functioning of the armed forces, but will also provide rare skills or enable active personnel to refocus on their core business;
- the basic units The reservist units (UER) cover the remainder, i.e. 16,000 soldiers in 2023, and are intended to grow. "The ERUs will be made up of equipped and trained units to provide a reservoir of forces to reinforce the protection of military installations, operate in the rear zone and supplement or relieve active units engaged in operations," explains General Barbry. "Ultimately, the aim is to reverse the ratio between ERUs and individual complements.
Of the current 40,000 operational reservists, 42% come from the private sector and 25 % from the public sector, including 5.5% from the Ministry of the Armed Forces.
THE REVAMPED RESERVE WILL BE YOUNGER AND MORE FEMININE...
"This identity card is set to change with the revamped reserves, which will certainly be more feminised, younger and more drawn from civil society", says the reserves delegate. "The idea is to move away from a jigsaw model of complements to the creation of a strategic reserve with a model based on better integration with the active forces.
To achieve this, PR35 is implementing new measures:
- recruitment : An overhaul of the Reservist recruitment process, making it simpler, clearer, faster and better supported, in particular by reducing the recruitment deadline to 10 weeks. Better skills management from the outset, with the introduction of a catalogue of cross-recognition of civilian and military skills.
- education: definition of a common core via distance learning or MOOCs (online courses open to all) for initial training, whatever the profile of reservists, guaranteeing their integration and their "militarity". The first MOOC will be online in the second half of 2024. In all cases, training will be tailored to the right needs.
- training : Upgrading training from 17% of reserve time today to 25% in 2030, to meet the need to raise operational standards.
One aspect of recruiting more reservists is crucial: their employers' relationship with the armed forces. Companies wishing to put in place more favourable provisions for their reservists than those set out in legislation are invited to sign a partnership agreement (CP) with the Ministry of the Armed Forces, through the General Secretariat of the National Guard. While reservist employees are entitled to ten days' leave per calendar year during their working hours, partner companies grant them more facilities. "This can mean extra days, a shorter response time, continued pay, etc.", explains General Barbry. By the end of September, 131 new contracts had already been signed for 2023 (compared with an annual average of 120 previously), bringing the total to 983.
A REGIMENT, FLOTILLAS AND A RESERVIST AIR BASE
While the EMA is carrying out this reform, the various armies, directorates and departments of the Ministry of the Armed Forces are stepping up their involvement in the reserves:
- La French Navy will deploy three coastal flotillas along the entire coastline (Atlantic from 2024, later in the Mediterranean and the English Channel), and 6 overseas squads with a focus on the French West Indies from 2025, while 30 naval operational reserve units will be deployed in ports.
- The Air and Space Force will create a reserve air base and reserve squadrons attached to each air base, including overseas.
- Departments and services: for example, in 2027, the Operational Energies Department will create a petroleum support unit near the Chalon-sur-Saône joint petroleum base, based on an active-reservist parity model.
- The Army will deploy 6 reserve battalions from 2024, another 6 in 2025, as well as units overseas. The sectors most concerned are intelligence, logistics, cyber and maintenance.
The latter army currently has the largest number of reservists, with more than 24,000 operational reservists. There is even a unit made up entirely of reservists (with the exception of 3% of active servicemen): the 24e An infantry regiment based at Vincennes (Val-de-Marne) and involved in most of the operations conducted on French soil.
From 30 October to 3 November, its soldiers were in the Allier region for Exercise Vulcain, which brought together 300 people, all reservists. In the future, training sessions like this will be held more frequently.
This increase in reserves will of course be accompanied by a dedicated communications strategy. "In addition to recruiting and promoting the reserves, this strategy will also have to make the most of their commitment," says General Barbry. "It will highlight their work on behalf of the armed forces and the nation as a whole.
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