French president unveils new 10-month voluntary military service for volunteers aged 18 and 19

VARCES, France (AP) — President Emmanuel Macron announced thousands of volunteers aged 18 and 19 will start serving in the military next year as he unveiled a new program meant to bolster France's armed forces to address growing concerns over Russia's threat to European nations beyond the war in Ukraine.Young volunteers will serve in uniform for 10 months in France’s mainland and oversea territories only, not in military operations abroad, Macron said in a speech at the Varces milita