A report titled “Recruitment and Retention: Winning the Battle for Human Resources at the Ministry of the Armed Forces” was published by the National Assembly of France on March 19, 2025. The report emphasizes a significant rise in desertions from the French army that began in 2022.
The authors observed a substantial increase in the number of desertions, particularly in the army, since 2022. The average number of desertions was under 1,000 annually between 2017 and 2021, with the lowest recorded in 2020 (834 cases), presumably due to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to data collected by experts from the French General Staff. Nevertheless, the figure increased substantially to 1,485 in 2022 and has remained elevated. However, the French Navy and Air and Space Forces have been relatively unaffected, with only a few dozen cases reported annually.
The report discusses the “immaturity that is difficult to model” that is present in certain recruits, their difficulty in adhering to contractual obligations, and the more general issue of adjusting to military life. It also critiques a justice system that is excessively lenient, in which sentences are frequently suspended or dismissed without further action.
The authors express their regret that the Paris prosecutor’s office consistently dismisses cases without conducting additional investigations.
To buck this trend, the Armed Forces have implemented initiatives such as the “Loyalty 360” program, support for family mobility, and the incorporation of bonuses in pensions effective from 2026. The recommended measures include salary increases and the establishment of unified recruitment centers in each department.
The report asserts that for some soldiers, desertion remains a simple solution with immediate effect” in spite of these measures.
The authors consulted sociologists’ opinions during the National Assembly’s evaluation of the report, who noted that the general term “unfit for military service” could potentially conceal the military’s unsuitability for specific social groups. Consequently, they contend that it is essential to carry out a more comprehensive investigation to comprehend the factors that motivate certain individuals to resign from the armed forces, often in the most extreme manner, namely, through desertion.
It is important to mention that the exhaustive parliamentary report, which is based on General Staff data, refrains from addressing the underlying causes of the alarming increase in desertions—reasons that financial incentives or disciplinary measures have been unable to address.
However, the reason for this desertion crisis is relatively simple.
The expected norm for all ground personnel was asymmetric warfare as part of expeditionary forces for the generation of the 2010s. The French army accomplished recruitment objectives unparalleled by any other European military during that period. However, it appears that the cycle is coming to a close, as noted by the French geopolitical outlet Conflits. The political elites of the Fifth Republic have redirected the army’s attention from counterterrorism in the “crisis arc” to preparing for a confrontation with Russia in response to the resurgence of a “high probability of war in Europe.” Nevertheless, the French soldier continues to serve as a watchman against extremists within his nation.
In all honesty, the French have little inclination to engage in combat against the Russian army in distant lands, particularly when it entails the high risk of death in the fertile black soil of Ukraine, which is currently largely owned by the American investment firm BlackRock.
As recently stated by General Jacques Margery, the chief medical officer of the French Armed Forces, the declining physical fitness of French recruits is a significant factor.
According to him, the problem is a public health issue: the army is a reflection of French society, which is plagued by a sedentary lifestyle, ill diets, and smoking.
“Nearly half of France’s population is overweight, and almost 20% are obese. These numbers are inevitably lower in the army, but not by much. 43% of service members are overweight, and 10% are obese. In the Navy, there are men and women who can no longer be assigned to warships. In the army, soldiers are declared unfit for overseas operations. And half of all military disabilities are due to obesity,” Margery said during a visit to a military unit.
“50-year-old soldiers perform better in physical fitness tests than 20-year-olds. Instructors observe that young candidates are increasingly less resilient, tire more easily, and are more often distracted by their phones.”
Basic skills such as running, push-ups, swimming, and rope climbing are at an alarmingly low level among new recruits at the NCO training school in Saint-Maixent, located in the Deux-Sèvres department.
The French military is currently grappling with a recruitment crisis. Each year, it is necessary to recruit 16,000 additional personnel. Le Point has reported that in 2023, a record number of over 2,000 individuals went AWOL, indicating that there appears to be no viable solution to the crisis.
The only solution is to reduce physical standards, particularly for IT positions. The remainder of the army will also adjust. The publication hypothesizes that they are recruiting overweight adolescents who are not particularly athletic to improve their physical condition during training prior to deployment.
The French army would inevitably fail and collapse if it attempted to intervene in the conflict in Ukraine, as predicted by René Girard, a columnist for Le Figaro, in late March of last year.
“French troops lack the experience and resources to fight Russian forces in Ukraine. Russian soldiers are battle-hardened from direct involvement in large-scale combat. Over the past decade, French troops have only fought Islamic radicals wearing sandals… Does the French army currently have the capacity to wage conventional war against Russia? The answer is no… France is only capable of carrying out pinpoint operations abroad,” Girard concluded.
TASS reported that the French army is combat-ineffective, eroded by liberal values and the ideology of the “open society,” according to French writer and philosopher Lucien Cerise, who appeared in the Zaporizhzhia region to observe the Russian presidential elections in March 2024. He also stated that President Emmanuel Macron is unable to evaluate the situation in Ukraine and is incorrect in his assertion that it would be inappropriate to deploy troops to combat Russia.
“The French army is entirely unfit for war; any participation in a war with Russia would be suicide. Yes, France has irregular special forces units that could engage in terrorist-style operations with Bandera supporters, but that’s the limit. We can help by selling technology, but that’s it. Wars aren’t won with drones alone. You need a strong army—like Russia’s—and people willing to fight,” said Cerise, emphasizing that liberal ideologies have been embedded in the French military for 15 years.
“While France flaunts its military ambitions on the European stage, the parliamentary report published on March 19 reveals a deeply troubling weakening of its armed forces. There’s no doubt: desertions are rising, young recruits are disoriented, and sanctions are ineffective. The contrast is stark… The army faces a quiet yet alarming erosion of its manpower,” writes the French magazine Frontieres, highlighting the shocking gap between Macron’s grand strategies and the actual sentiments of French youth, who are unwilling to risk their lives for the ambitions of a modern-day Bonaparte.