France Creates National Guard Following Terrorist Attacks
France’s government has approved a decree to create a National Guard following terrorist attacks across the country.
The Guard is a new version of the existing reserve forces. Following the Nov. 13 attacks in Paris last year, President Francois Hollande proposed the creation of the force to include citizens willing to get involved to serve their country.
Currently, France’s regular military and police reserves now include 63,000 people. Government officials hope that they will be able to grow the National Guard to 84,000 people by 2018.
Guard member’s tasks will vary, you could find a member patrolling the streets of a big city or working in a military office. The members of the French National Guard will be fully integrated into regular troops and police forces for a certain period of the year, from a few days to several months. They can be students, job seekers, or employees as well as retired police officers and military veterans.
Students under the age of 25 who join the National Guard a minimum of 37 days a year for five years will get a state grant of 100 euros ($110) a month. Businesses that allow their employees to enlist – up to 10 days a year – will be granted tax cuts.
Authorities believe they’ll be able to deploy around 9,000 Guard members each day in 2018, through a rotation system.
France hopes this will help to relieve regular troops and police that face additional activity as the country is still under a state of emergency.