France's Government has introduced a plan to bring back national service for all 16-year-olds, a move it says will give the country's teenagers a sense of national unity and civic duty.

President Emmanuel Macron initially proposed the idea of national service during his presidential run in 2017

At the time, he said he wanted "every young French citizen to experience, even if only for a short time, military life — a short, obligatory and universal national service".

That commitment has now been watered down, with participants able to opt to serve with the military or carry out community work.

The program is estimated to cost 1.6 billion euros ($2.5 billion) a year to run, with an initial government investment of $2.8 billion.

Compulsory military service in France was scrapped in 1996 when Mr Macron was 18, which makes him the first French president not to have done it.

Two phases — but the second is optional

The new national service program will occur in two phases, one mandatory and one optional.

The first phase, which will happen during the French school holidays, is a one-month placement focusing on civic culture.

This might include activities like charity work, volunteer teaching or stints with the military, fire service or police.

The optional phase, for those under 25, will last for between three months and one year.

Participants will be able to work in defence or security roles, or volunteer in social work, environmental or heritage positions.

Consultations with young people, parents, local government and teachers' unions will be conducted in October before a final decision is made on how the first phase will work.

The new national service could start as early as next summer and be ramped up to 700,000 participants by 2026, a working group on the issue recommended.

Young people have criticised Mr Macron's plan for compulsory national service, saying they should have freedom of choice. ( AP-Pool: Charles Platiau )

The French constitution does not allow the state to force large segments of the population to spend time away from home, unless this is needed for national defence.

According to the BBC, 14 youth organisations objected to the programme even before it was announced, arguing they should have freedom of choice and saying "Choosing a commitment is just as important as the commitment itself, if not more so."

But a YouGov poll in March showed 60 per cent of people in France thought compulsory national service for young people was a good idea.