Women are not drafted, but may volunteer for either civilian or military forms of service. The number of women in national service is now 2,500. Conscripts wishing to enter civilian forms of service must volunteer for them, although the army has absolute priority. Civilian Forms of Service. Presently there are five forms of civilian service of varying durations, with 16,000 participants.
Conscripts serve in areas such as teaching, medical centers, and economic development.
Currently it is in the experimental stage. Military Service for Civilian Purposes. Together with purely civilian forms of service, mixed forms of military service for civilian purposes are available. These programs enroll some 7,000 conscripts. The Paris Fire Brigade, the Marseille Fire Battalion, and the civil security training and intervention units train young men to use civil security techniques during their military service.