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Every Frenchman is liable to military service during twenty-five years of his life—viz., from the age of twenty until he is forty-five.[1]

In time of peace this period of service is thus divided:

(i) Three years of active service.

(ii) Ten years in the reserve of the standing army, during which two periods of a month each with the colours must be undergone.

(iii) Six years in the territorial army, with two periods of thirteen days each with the colours, and

(iv) Six years in the reserve of the territorial army.

The conscription lists are thus made out:

Every year the Mayor of each "Commune" draws up a list of all the young men who have arrived at the age of twenty during the past twelve months.

These lists must be posted up by January 14 at the latest. The names of the sons of foreigners, if born in France, are included, and unless they claim foreign nationality they are liable to serve, and on failing to do so when called upon are regarded as deserters and punished accordingly.

Domicile is established by the parents' residence.

Every year the War Minister fixes the number of conscripts required to serve three years with the colours; those in excess of that number are called upon to serve for one year only; but during the following two years they are liable to be called upon to complete their time of active service.

In order to determine those who are to benefit by this arrangement tirage au sort (drawing lots) is resorted to.

In time of peace, conscripts falling under any of the following categories, among others, are also called upon to serve for one year only:

(a) The eldest of orphans, or the eldest son of a widow, or of a family whose father is blind, or has reached his seventieth year.

(b) The only son in a family of seven children or more—or the eldest son of a family of at least seven.

(c) The elder of twins.

(d) Brothers of men engaged in active service.

(e) Brothers of a man who has been killed, or who has died in active service, or who has been invalided on account of disease contracted, or wounds received, while serving.

(f) Young men who have signed an engagement to serve during ten years as teachers in the National schools.

(g) Students in law, science, or medicine who have already obtained their admission to the Government Universities or other institutions mentioned in the Act.

(h) Students of the religious institutions who are studying to become ministers of one of the religions recognised by the State.

Provided that, in classes (f), (g), (h), such young men have obtained their final degree before their twenty-sixth year, or that religious students have been ordained before the end of their twenty-sixth year, failing which, they are called upon to complete three years' active service.

Whoever has been convicted of theft, obtaining money by false pretences, rape, and other crimes against morals, and has been sentenced to more than three months' imprisonment for such crimes, or has been sentenced twice for similar offences, is sent to special battalions in Algeria. If, at the time a conscript is called upon to serve, he is undergoing imprisonment, he begins his service at the expiration of his sentence.

Instead of joining their regiment like other conscripts, these men have to report themselves on a certain date at the headquarters of the military district to which they belong, and they are thence taken by gendarmes to the dépôt of their battalion. They are subjected to an iron discipline, being commanded by officers and non-commissioned officers picked out from other regiments where they have distinguished themselves for their harshness. Many are the tales of dreadful revenge taken by these conscripts on their officers. It is no uncommon thing for a few of them to play away the life of an officer at cards, the loser being obliged to kill him within a certain time. To quote but a single instance: A few years ago one of these battalions was being marched from Biskra to Tuggurt in Southern Algeria. Before leaving, four of the men had played away the life of their Major at cards. The loser, who was to carry out the deed, pretended to be ill, and kept to the rear of the column. On the second day he kept still farther back, and sat down pretending to be exhausted. The Major, who had fallen far behind, seeing the man, spoke to him kindly, telling him to make an effort. "Oh, sir," said the soldier, "I can't; I am done for." The Major kindly handed the man his flask to take a pull from, and as he was replacing it in his holster, the man fired his rifle point blank at his officer. Fortunately the horse swerved, and the bullet missed. Thereupon the Major drew his revolver, and blew the ruffian's brains out. A few months later a stone was found on the spot bearing this inscription:

Here

On the 10th of December 18—

Private ——

Was murdered by Major X.

The man who placed the stone there was never discovered, and, although it was removed by order of the military authorities, another one bearing a similar inscription soon afterwards stood in its place. Six times these stones were removed, and six times they were replaced, yet the guilty parties were never detected. It is hardly to be wondered at if the officers of these battalions usually carry loaded revolvers.

To return to our description of the mode of recruiting.

The lists having been duly posted up, a day is appointed for drawing the lots. This public ceremony is presided over by the "Sous-préfet" of the "Arrondissement." Having counted the number of names on the list, the Sous-préfet places a corresponding number of tickets, each bearing a number, in an urn: he then calls out the names of the young men, and each in turn draws a ticket; in case of absence of one of them his lot is drawn by the Mayor. As already explained only a certain number of men being required to serve three years, those who draw the highest numbers stand a chance of serving for but twelve months, besides those who have a right to claim the privilege, although the latter are also bound to draw lots.

All the young men whose names appear in the lists have next to appear before a Conseil de Revision (Revising Commission).

This Commission consists of:

The Prefect of the Department, who is ex-officio President.

A Conseiller de Préfecture.

A Member of the Conseil Général.

A Member of the Conseil d'arrondissement.

A General or Field Officer appointed by the military authority.

An Intendant militaire (Commissariat officer).

The chief Recruiting Officer of the district.

A military Surgeon, or a Doctor, is appointed by the military authorities to make a medical examination of all the conscripts, and upon his report the Commission decides by vote whether each individual conscript shall serve or not. It should be added that the minimum height is 5 feet 0½ inch.

The Commission also decides upon claims of exemption made by sons of foreigners, and upon the claims of those entitled to a service of one year only.[2]

Each conscript subsequently receives his feuille de route, stating the regiment he must join, and the date on which he must join it, and making an allowance for his journey to the town where he is to be quartered.[3] From the moment conscripts receive their feuilles de route they are under military law, and can only be tried by court-martial for any crimes or offences they may commit.

Men while serving for a month in the reserve, or for a fortnight in the territorial army, are also exclusively under martial law for the time being. Even in the case of a soldier who has finished his service the fact of his assaulting one of his former superiors (from a Corporal upwards) renders him liable to be tried by court-martial "should such assault be considered the result of revenge for a punishment received during his service."—(Art. 223 and 224 of the Code of Military Justice.) So that a man who has been abominably treated during his time of service and who gives a good hiding to one of his former officers ten or twenty years later, is liable to be tried by the military authorities.

I may add here that the act of striking a supérieur, meaning any man superior in rank to one's self, from a Corporal upwards, is punished with DEATH, even in time of peace. Two instances occurred while I served. In the first instance a private had struck a Corporal who had bullied him in a most shameful way; in the second instance a Corporal had struck an officer who had called his mother by a vile name. Both men were found guilty and publicly shot in the presence of their regiment on special parade. It very seldom occurs that a man who has struck even a Corporal is reprieved.

In each subdivision of every military district is kept a register in which are inscribed the names of all the men in that subdivision who are serving, or have served.

In this register is stated the date at which each man has been incorporated, as well as the date of his leaving the service, the date of his passing into the reserve, then into the territorial army and into the reserve of the territorial army, until he has satisfied all his military obligations. Every change of address is also noted.

Every soldier receives on joining his regiment a livret matricule, a book in which are stated his age, his name, the address of his parents, his full description, the list of all the punishments he has received, and many other particulars.

It is of the utmost importance for every Frenchman to keep this book carefully, as it has to be produced whenever required by the military, civil, or judicial authorities, and its loss entails several days' imprisonment. Whenever a Frenchman—until he has reached the age of forty-five and has thus satisfied all his military obligations—wishes to absent himself from his domicile, he is bound to present his livret at the nearest gendarmerie and to declare where he is going: this is written down in his livret, and on arrival at his new residence he must have this book "visé" anew. If he goes abroad he must present it to the French Consul, and whenever he changes his residence for more than three months, he must repeat the operation exactly after the fashion of a ticket-of-leave man in England. To omit to do so renders the offender liable to imprisonment. It is therefore easy to realise the tremendous power of the military authorities in France.