Last service

From the book "Livret militaire" to be published by Éditions Filigranes on June 24th, 2021

Last service

“Every Frenchman is a soldier and must defend the country.” Ever since this citizen’s principle stated by the Member of Parliament Jourdan in 1798, all young Frenchmen fulfilled their military service until 1996, the year of its abolition by Jacques Chirac. Twenty-five years later, French society, suffering from deep community strife, is having second thoughts. Should military service be re-instated? But, what does this actually mean? When my turn came in 1980, I photographed my daily recruit’s life throughout that year. Deeming this eyewitness account of general interest, Filigranes Éditions have collected these photographs in a small publication called Livret Militaire, released June 24th in bookshops. Because fifty-six photographs are worth a thousand words.