France to raise reservist age to 70: defense minister

France's military will raise the maximum age for reservists to 70, the defense minister said on Tuesday, after months of clashes over a divisive increase to the nation's minimum retirement age.

The age limit for trained soldiers ready to be called up if needed currently stands between 60 and 65 years old.

"We will increase the age limits... People will be able to be a reservist in the French military until they are 70 years old and until they are 72 years old for certain specialists," Defense Minister Sebastien Lecornu told broadcaster RTL.

France has 40,000 reservists but President Emmanuel Macron wants to double that figure.

Lecornu spoke as the government was on Tuesday to discuss France's new defense budget, under which military spending would increase from 43.9 billion euros ($47.9 billion) this year to 69 billion euros by 2030.

A string of European allies have committed to spending billions more on their armed forces since Russia invaded pro-Western Ukraine last year.

France's increased budget aims to help better face "a succession of threats that are all adding up", including "terrorism", the war in Ukraine, the militarization of space and cyber warfare, Lecornu said.

The aim is to "remain in the club of nations able to defend themselves," he added.

The French president has faced months of mass protests over his pensions reform, which includes raising the minimum retirement age from 62 to 64.

His government rammed the bill through a hung lower house of parliament last month, causing outrage and widespread unrest.

 

AFP