PARIS — French President Emmanuel Macron is expected to present a new voluntary military service on Thursday — and most political parties are likely to go along with the plan.

The project, which stops short of conscription, is designed to funnel trained personnel into the active armed forces or the reserves. In recent years, politicians have sometimes floated military service as a way to discipline young people or create social cohesion. Now, the main motive is to beef up the armed forces to face off the threat posed by Russia.

Many other European countries are also looking to reinstate military service in different forms, as warnings grow that Russian leader Vladimir Putin could be prepared to attack a NATO country as early as 2028.

“France is not alone in this reflection on mobilizing the nation beyond the military forces engaged, and this is all the more relevant now that there is a clear Russian threat,” said Hélène Conway-Mouret, a Socialist lawmaker who sits on the French Senate’s foreign affairs and defense committee.

Earlier this month,  Germany’s governing parties agreed to introduce mandatory registration and medical screening for 18-year-old men — but made any move toward compulsory service dependent on a separate parliamentary decision that will only be triggered if voluntary service falls short of the military’s needs.

 Poland earlier this year unveiled its goal to train every adult male for war, but also stopped short of reintroducing conscription.

The French voluntary program will likely involve serious military training, but there is currently no talk of reinstating conscription, which was ended by the late President Jacques Chirac in 1997.

Macron is visiting the 27th Mountain Infantry Brigade in Varces on Thursday, the Elysée Palace said Monday, where he’s expected to make the announcement. “On this occasion, the President of the Republic will reaffirm the importance of preparing the nation and its moral forces to face growing threats,” the Elysée said.

Such an overhaul would require “legislative reform,” a French official stressed. The government pledged to present an updated military planning law by Dec. 21.

Unlike many of Macron’s policy proposals, the idea of creating a voluntary military service has garnered widespread support across France’s otherwise polarized political spectrum.

The plan is backed by the conservatives and the far right, including the chair of the Senate’s foreign affairs and defense committee, Cédric Perrin from Les Républicains, and the National Rally’s President Jordan Bardella, who called the ending of conscription “a mistake.”

Bardella said military service should eventually become mandatory again, but conceded the armed forces didn’t have enough money now to train the entire French youth.

On the left, Conway-Mouret doesn’t anticipate resistance either. “If it’s voluntary, I don’t see why there would be any opposition,” she said.

France aims to create a 105,000-strong reserve force by 2035 — a ratio of one reservist for every two active-duty soldiers. That would mark a significant increase from the country’s nearly 44,000 reservists in 2024.

Top French military brass have previously expressed concern about the decline in population and its inevitable impact on recruitment.

Macron first floated the plans in July, with the French prime minister’s office hinting in September that a revamped, optional military service was on the way.

Elisa Bertholomey contributed to this report.