Civic service
News from 25 October 2022. It has not been updated since it was published: some information may have changed. Latest news
What is civic service?
Civic service (Service civique) is a young person's commitment to carry out a mission of general interest with a non-profit organisation or a public-law body, in France or abroad.
Commitment to civic service helps mobilise young people in the face of social and environmental challenges.
The young person helps to develop a response to the needs of the population and of local areas.
They work alongside the volunteers and employees of the organisation without replacing them.
Whereas an internship is centred on acquiring skills and an apprenticeship on learning the basics of a trade, Civic Service is a stage of life. The young person must develop their experience through citizenship and the social usefulness of their work. A Civic Service mission is the meeting of a project of general interest run by your organisation and a young person's own personal project of commitment. The mission set up is useful to the young person, to the host organisation and to society in general.
The organisation hosting a young person is obliged to appoint a tutor for the duration of the mission. The tutor's role is many-sided: preparing the mission, integrating the young person into the organisation, making sure the mission runs smoothly, and supporting them as they think about their future plans.
The tutor must be available, open and attentive.
All the information is available at https://www.service-civique.gouv.fr/
Does civic service apply to me?
A Civic Service mission is open to all young people aged 16 to 25 (30 for people with disabilities). It is therefore possible to start civic service up to the day before your 26th birthday.
Civic Service is open to young people of French nationality, nationals of a country in the European Economic Area, and young people from a non-EU country who can show one year of lawful residence in France.
