France launches 'diplomatic reserve' to boost soft power
"Any French or European citizen aged 18 or over can join this civic reserve, if he or she adheres to a charter and a cardinal principle: the general interest," Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said in a speech.
"And our ambitions are high, commensurate with our diplomatic network, which, with 163 embassies and 208 consulates general, is the third largest in the world. Our diplomacy must be present everywhere, right down to the last kilometre that sometimes separates us from our most distant compatriots," he added.
Reservists will have three main aims: public service and protecting French citizens abroad, defending the country's interests in all bilateral, European and multilateral forums, and ensuring France's voice is understood at home and heard around the world.
Their tasks may include providing telephone support for the crisis and support centre, which coordinates the protection of French nationals and the country's emergency humanitarian action.
"Since the outbreak of the war between Israel and Iran, the crisis centre has answered 12,000 calls in 12 days. And 1,000 French nationals have benefited from our assistance to return to France. In such situations, telephone assistance is essential, and requires a large number of volunteers," Barrot said.
Providing logistical and protocol support during major events - including G7 meetings under the French presidency next year - as well as digital expertise to counter disinformation or promote France's efforts are among the other main tasks the reserve is looking for.
The Foreign ministry will on Monday ask all its ambassadors to map out their needs before the end of the year in order to draw up a comprehensive catalogue of potential assignments.
The reserve will have two contingents. The first one is to be filled with current or former employees of the foreign ministry, as well as employees of French agencies that have an international focus such as the French Development Agency, advisors to French people abroad, and academics with whom the ministry already works.
About 200 people have already expressed an interest in joining, Barrot said, adding that the aim is to grow this contingent to 1,000 people before the end of the year.
A second group will be made up of people who volunteer or work for international solidarity NGOs, or in French associations abroad, as well as international technical experts, think-tankers, and business leaders who "play an essential role in our economic diplomacy", Barrot said.
Parliamentary approval will be required to set up this contingent, with the legal process set to kickstart next week.
The establishment of this diplomatic reserve was first announced by President Emmanuel Macron in 2023 in a speech to the French diplomatic corps in which he sought to appease them after a proposed reform to their services the year before prompted them to strike for the first time.
The reform sought to gradually phase out the two corps that manage diplomatic staff, in what the government said was a bid to open up diplomatic positions to greater diversity.
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