Government Officially Ends Military Draft

The government officially ended its military draft--in existence since the French Revolution--and said it aims to pull all conscripted service personnel out of the armed forces by year’s end.

In a statement, President Jacques Chirac and Prime Minister Lionel Jospin said the draft was no longer needed because a volunteer recruitment drive had proved successful and external threats had waned.

Conscription of new service personnel will stop immediately--18 months earlier than expected--sparing about 200,000 people 18 and older from the prospect of military service, the Defense Ministry said.