Uniform, get up at 6.30 am, republican values ​​... the first promotion of the universal national service tells

In his souvenir photos, the pride can be read in his eyes.

Especially the ones where she poses in her police blue uniform, cap with the "SNU" logo.

Angélique Liguoro, 17, is part of the first “promotion” of the universal national service.

In June 2019, there were 2,000 of them experimenting with this device, Emmanuel Macron's campaign promise - slightly revised downwards, especially over time, when it was implemented.

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Originally from Vaucluse, Angélique, 17, spent 15 days in a boarding school in Val-d'Oise.

“Republican values ​​are something that has always spoken to me.

I already think I am a citizen in everyday life, but I said to myself:

There are still things to take,

”recalls the young woman.

Attracted, too, by the wearing of the uniform.

“This puts us on an equal footing,” smiles this good student, who is predestined not for a military career, but for real estate.

Raised by "cool" parents, Angélique "appreciated" the discipline of the SNU ... Even getting up at 6.30am.

She has become "more punctual", and above all, discovered that one could shiver during an official ceremony.

“I read General de Gaulle's speech of June 18, in front of all my class.

I cried!

"

"It is above all the means to discover people that one would never have known"

For his part, Augustin, originally from Bavay (North) spent two weeks in Bourges (Cher).

“The uniform doesn't bother me: I'm a scout,” smiles the teenager, who escaped sport during the SNU after spraining his ankle on leaving… the bathroom.

The teenager "did not go there for the flag", but to live a "collective experience where everyone is equal".

“Perhaps that's the real citizen factor,” Augustin analyzes.

Who retains a benefit: “It opened me up to others.

Usually, I'm in my bubble.

"

Augustin retains from his SNU “a collective experience” which “opened him to others”.

/ DR  

Noël-David has kept in touch with others involved.

“I went there thinking to myself:

I have nothing to lose.

A little intrigued by the military side of things, too, ”recalls this inhabitant of Louviers (Eure), whose SNU center was in the Creuse.

“We were very hot during the ceremonies, some were uneasy,” says Noël-David.

Beyond the workshops, the sport, and

the Marseillaise

, it is above all a way to discover people that one would never have met.

"

For the founder of civic service, the SNU is "too short"

If these veterans of the first class draw positive conclusions from their experience, some players in the sector believe that it is possible to go further.

This is the case of Marie Trellu-Kane, president of the Unis-Cités association, the association behind civic service.

This solidarity commitment device was created in 2010, allowing 16-25 year olds to get involved in a citizenship mission.

A bit like the SNU, except that it lasts 6 to 12 months and the volunteers, who were 140,000 in 2019-2020, are compensated.

A "real fundamental difference", judges the boss of Unis-Cités.

“We, civic engagement, we believe in it!

The question is: What do we put in it?

For Marie Trellu-Kane, the length of the engagement is essential.

“In eight months, with compensated volunteers, you get to the bottom of things.

With its twice 15 days, isn't the SNU too short?

In a month, we are doing the nation a disservice.

I find that the only revolution of the SNU is to become, perhaps, mandatory in the long term.

"

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But everything is not to be thrown away, according to Marie Trellu-Kane.

The two devices must even be complementary.

“The SNU must be a springboard towards civic service, a gateway that would even usefully improve it!

Without it, the SNU remains the equivalent of the national service classes of the old days.

"