In the race to see who can throw the security hat higher, there’s a new contender: the Socialist candidate Christophe Castaner who, competing against two giants of all things security-related, is proposing nothing less than a “republican electro-shock”!
Specifically, he is calling for the implementation of a mandatory certified national service lasting six months.
For him: “This national service should train people in the Republic, raise awareness of democratic and Republican values. It could lead to a qualifying training for young people within the region’s skills framework.”
The goals? It is still the Socialist candidate who emphasizes them: “This qualifying training could prepare young people for careers in general security and the police and gendarmerie exams in particular. It could train in civility, first-aid, and safety measures. The aim is to create a real training pathway for the service in defense of the Republic.”
An eye on security but also another on employment, a subject equally sensitive in a region with an unemployment rate higher than the national average…
“To complete this Pact, I’m also asking the President of the Republic to reserve a quota for young people from the Provence Alpes Côte d’Azur region within the 5,000 new positions in the security fields that he announced,” he adds.
But that’s not all… the list of proposals is still long and well-developed because Christophe Castaner has many other ideas to promote…
“I also want the region’s two police academies (Fos sur mer and La Paternelle) reopened to prepare for careers in security through apprenticeships within the region’s skill framework.”
“I finally want to commit to supporting the municipalities, pillars of the Republic, through a training policy for Public Road Surveillance Agents (PRSA).”
The civic service as it is currently structured cannot accommodate 700,000 to 750,000 young people per year (the number of young people per age group). Associations alone cannot host all these new civic services. The field of possibilities must be opened up, offering opportunities to carry out service in an association, but also in the army, national police, national education, hospitals, or other public services.
The defense appeal day would be the entry point into this system, the moment of choosing one’s civic service. It is necessary that those furthest from society, those most in difficulty, be taken care of by the army, modeled after the Adapted Military Service (SMA) used in the Overseas Territories.”
All this seems a bit like a mixed bag, but it has the merit of shaking things up.
We await the counterattack from his rivals who will certainly not want to appear lax in the face of their competitor’s security-oriented approach in the regional election.
Holding our breath…
