President François Hollande announced on Thursday he was expanding the country's system of community service, as France seeks to mend divisions in its fractured society a month after the Paris attacks, reports Dunya News.
Any young person who wants to take part "will be able to from June 1", Hollande announced, adding that France s community service agency would be "reinforced."
However, he stopped short of calling for a compulsory system of community service, saying "the people would have to be consulted" for that.
"At the moment, there are four times more demands than available places on community services projects," he noted.
Last year, only 35,000 young people won a place on a scheme but 80 percent of applicants were turned away for lack of places.
The idea of voluntary community work is not new but has taken centre stage in the public debate after the Paris attacks, which once again highlighted the glaring divisions in French society.
A scheme was launched in 2010 for young people aged 16 to 25 in a bid to fill the hole left by the abolition of the old military service in 1997.
Expanding community work is also seen as a way of occupying young people hit hard by unemployment -- at 25 percent, youth unemployment in France is one of the highest in Europe.
However, there appears to be little appetite to reintroduce military service. Defence minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said he was "not sure" military service was the right move, although he championed a "reinforcement" of community service.