President Macron has insisted his government will reintroduce national service in France despite warnings that it will prove a financial and legal minefield.

Benjamin Griveaux, the French government’s spokesman, said Mr Macron was bent on implementing his presidential election campaign pledge to introduce a month-long national service for all young people.

The promise, 17 years after conscription was ended in France, was welcomed by many voters but has generated disquiet among ministers charged with putting it into practice.

In a sign of cabinet tensions, Florence Parly, the defence minister, said the new national service could not be made obligatory, but she was contradicted by Gérard Collomb, the interior minister.

Mr Griveaux sought to end the dispute, coming down on Mr Collomb’s side and saying it