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What is France’s ‘citizen service’ and who has to do it?

Although France no longer has compulsory military service, there is still a requirement for a 'citizen service' known as the JDC - and for most younger people this is compulsory, including young foreigners who take French citizenship.

Published: 24 May 2024 17:11 CEST

What is France's 'citizen service' and who has to do it?

Youngsters in Marseille taking part in their Journée Défense Citoyonneté (JDC). Photo by BERTRAND LANGLOIS / AFP

France scrapped compulsory military service in 1997 so its teenagers are no longer required to do 10 months of square-bashing, boot polishing and cross country runs.

They are, however, required to do the Journée défense et citoyenneté (JDC) in most cases – although this at least has the benefit of being just a single day.

What is it?

The JDC is basically a one-day course or learning exercise about your rights and responsibilities as a citizen of France.

You will receive teaching on three main areas;

The general issues and objectives of national defence, and on the different forms of commitment required from citizens. This part of the course is usually taught by members of the French military
Civics lessons – similar to those given in French schools – based on the Charte des droits et devoirs du citoyen français (Charter of rights and duties of French citizens)
Information on equality between men and women, on the fight against sexist prejudice and on the fight against physical, psychological or sexual violence committed within the couple

You will also be given a brief test on your knowledge of the French language. This is for everyone, not just foreigners, and language learners can feel comforted by the fact that plenty of native French people also struggle with the intricacies of their language.

You do not have to pass any kind of exam on the contents of the citizenship course – more on the curriculum here.

The course usually lasts seven and a half hours – basically a standard working day.

Who has to do it?

There are two things that young people in France must do – the recensement citoyen (citizen census) and then, in most cases, the JDC.

The recensement citoyen is compulsory for;

Any French citizens who are turning 16 – they must complete the registration within three months of their 16th birthday.
Anyone who gains French nationality between the ages of 16 and 25 – they must sign up within a month of getting their citizenship.

It is not required for people older than 25 who gain French citizenship, neither is it required for non-French citizens – even if they are long-term residents in France.

People who fail to complete the recensement citoyen when required cannot be inscribed onto the electoral rolls (and therefore cannot vote), while the certificate of completion is also usually required to enrol for French public exams or administrative exams (eg professional qualifications).

Once you have completed the census, you will then receive notice for the one-day citizenship course (JDC). This is compulsory for most people, although there are exceptions for people who have a disability or a long-term illness.

How do you do it?

First off, the recensement citoyen can be done either online or in person, if you choose the online option it is done at the local mairie.

It’s a relatively simple sign-up process and then you receive the attestation de recensement, which will be required for registering for exams. Once you have completed this, you will automatically be added to the electoral roll once you reach the age of 18.

Once this is completed, you will then receive a convocation (summons) to your one-day JDC. The letter will provide details of how and where to do the course, as well as the options to appeal if you believe you are exempt on the grounds of illness or disability.

It also gives you an autorisation d’absence exceptionnelle – authorisation of absence, which you present to your employer if you are working or an apprentice. They are then legally obliged to give you the day off to attend.

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How to vote in France's snap parliamentary elections

France will elect new MPs in the Assemblée Nationale in the coming weeks, with voting on June 30th and July 7th.

In France, voters are expected to turn up in person. Those who cannot, for any reason, can nominate a proxy to vote in person on their behalf (more on this below).

Here are the answers to common questions about voting in France;

Who can vote?

Although non-French citizens can vote in European and local elections, when it comes to parliamentary elections like this one (or presidential elections) only people with French citizenship can vote. This includes dual nationals.

In order to vote in a parliamentary election you must be aged 18 or over and be a French national.

Those who gained French citizenship aged 16 or under (including those who were born French) are also required to have completed their ‘citizen service’ in order to be inscribed on the electoral roll. This does not apply to people who gained French citizenship as adults.

You also need to ensure that you are on the electoral roll in order for you to receive your election card in the run-up to voting.

If you voted in the European elections then you know that all is well, however domestic elections usually have a significantly higher turnout than Europeans, so there will be plenty of people who didn’t vote in the European elections who will want to have their say on June 30th and July 7th.

If you have not previously voted in France, or you have moved house since you last voted, you can check whether you are on the electoral roll HERE.

You may be registered without realising – anyone who has become French since 2019 benefits from automatic registration in the liste électorale. This means that most people can be eligible to vote shortly after acquiring French nationality.

Is it too late to register?

If you find that you are not listed on the electoral roll, then unfortunately it is too late to register for the upcoming parliamentary elections.

Even though the elections were announced with short notice, the normal rule – that registration is only possible until six Fridays before the first round – was still applied, meaning that people who were not already registered when the election was called on June 9th cannot vote.

Where do I vote?

When checking your status with the electoral roll, you can check the address of your polling station, as well as your national electoral number. If you want to, you can also download your certificate of registration on the electoral roll (attestation d’inscription sur les listes électorales).

What to bring when voting

When you go to vote, you need a form of identification in most towns, although municipalities of less than 1,000 inhabitants do not have this obligation. However, the head of the polling station in small towns might ask you to prove your identity in another manner.

For an ID, you have several options, including: a French national identity card (valid or expired for less than 5 years), a passport (valid or expired for less than 5 years), your Carte Vitale (as long as it has your photograph), a valid French military card (Carte du combattant), a valid French disability card (as long as it has a photograph), a valid driver’s licence, and even a hunting licence (as long as it has a photograph and was issued by the National Office for Hunting and Wildlife).

Technically, your voter registration card is not required to vote, but it is highly recommended.

How do you get a voter card?

The electoral card (carte électorale) is sent by post to your home at least three days prior to the first round of an election or referendum.

If your electoral card has not been distributed to you before the election or referendum, it is kept at the polling station. You can collect it by presenting an identity document.

What actually happens on the day?

After the voter registration card and/ or ID documents have been checked, voters head to a table which holds a pile of envelopes and several piles of ballot papers – one for each of the candidates.

They must take an envelope and at least two candidate ballot papers into a booth, where they put the paper of the candidate they wish to vote for into the envelope and seal it. Voters who want to exercise their right, but don’t want to vote for any of the candidates can cast a vote blanc – by sealing an empty envelope.

Then, they take their sealed envelope and head to a locked, transparent ballot box, where staff check their ID again and confirm that they have just one envelope to put in the ballot box.

The ballot box is double-locked before voting begins, and each of the two keys is held by a separate election official to prevent tampering.

A poll worker pulls a lever that opens a slit wide enough to accept the voter’s envelope.

The voter posts their vote through the slit into the transparent box. The poll worker then closes the ballot box – and a simple mechanical counter adds one vote to the total tally. It’s a simple and straightforward way of maintaining an accurate count.

At the same time, the poll worker who closes the ballot box will say – or, perhaps intone or declare – a voté (has voted).

There’s no particular reason for this, other than tradition in a country that, despite a drop-off in polling numbers in recent years, still takes the voting process seriously.

Before the voter leaves the polling station, they can have their carte éléctorale stamped as confirmation that they have cast their vote – this is optional and doesn’t give you any special privileges (you don’t even get a free coffee once you reach 10 elections).

Second round

Once you’ve got over the excitement of voting once, you may get to do it all over again.

If no candidate gets more than 50 percent of the vote in the first round, then a second round of voting is held a week later (on July 7th). Presidential elections virtually always have a second round while local elections usually do in big cities, while sometimes smaller places with only a few candidates see one person get the required 50 percent in round one. In parliamentary elections first-round wins are rare, but they do happen in some areas.

If there is a second round, you get to go down to the local polling booth and hear a voté for a second time.

Setting up a proxy vote

If you will be out of town during the election, then you can request a proxy vote, or procuration. Postal voting has not been allowed since 1975.

The fact that the second round of these elections take place during the school holidays, as well as the last-minute nature of the election call, means that there has been a big increase in requests for a proxy vote.

Anyone else noticed the queues outside police stations in France? (Or is just Paris?) People registering for proxy votes ahead of the elections. 550,000 so far.. massive increase on last parliamentary elections.. Mainly due to short notice of vote, summer hols and big interest… pic.twitter.com/KWy2eWC35Y

— Ben McPartland (@McPBen) June 19, 2024

You can select anyone as your proxy – friend, relative, neighbour etc – but they must be eligible to vote in France and registered to vote on the local electoral roll. You will need their date of birth, voter number, as well as their full name and the commune where they vote.

You will also need to know your own voter number (if you aren’t sure, you can find it here).

There are a few ways to do set up a proxy vote. The paper option involves printing out the procuration request (found here). Once you have filled it out, you can bring it with you (and your ID) to a police station (Commissariat de police), gendarmerie, or another location defined by local authorities for requesting proxy votes.

Then there are two options to do so online by logging onto maprocuration.gouv.fr.

This first is mostly online, with some in-person steps. Once logged onto ‘maprocuration’, you should receive an email with the reference number for your application.

You can take this with you, as well as your French ID card, to a police station, gendarmerie, or other location defined by local authorities. Afterwards, you will receive email confirmation.

To do it entirely online, you will need to be registered with France Identité, a digital identification tool created by the French government.

To access France Identité you must have the new format bank-card sized French ID card (Carte nationale d’identité known as CNI), be over the age of 18, and have at least an Android 8 phone (with NFC technology) or at least an iOS 16 iPhone.

Download the ‘France Identité’ application to your smartphone, then scan your French ID card. Once your identity is verified, you will be able to create a personal PIN to access the app.

Then you need to have your France Identité account certified. Within the app you can apply for certification (demande d’une certification) and make an appointment at the mairie to get your France Identité checked. Be sure to bring along your ID card and your smartphone to the appointment.

Within 48 hours, you should be informed by email and on the application if your request was approved.

Once you have done all of these steps, now you can return to the maprocuration.gouv.fr website to enter your proxy’s information. Then you will indicate your own voting location and verify your ID using France Identité.

Afterwards, you should receive en email with your proxy request and one saying that it was accepted.

There is technically no deadline to register for a proxy and you can even do it on polling day – but it’s strongly recommended to do it further in advance, as soon as possible in fact, as you risk your proxy not being able to vote on your behalf if the application is not processed in time.

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