Volunteer firefighters and the reserves: how to get involved
Service Civique isn't the only form of volontariat in France. You can also serve as a volunteer firefighter or in the reserves — commitments you can take on alongside studies or a job, and which are set to grow significantly in the coming years. Here's how they work.
Volunteer firefighter (sapeur-pompier volontaire)
Volunteer firefighters are the backbone of France's emergency services: they make up about 80% of all firefighters, nearly 200,000 people. You can be a volunteer firefighter alongside your studies or your job.
What it is: a citizen commitment to respond to emergencies — accidents, fires, first aid — after initial training and ongoing training.
Main requirements:
- be at least 16 (parental consent for minors);
- live near a fire and rescue centre;
- meet the physical and medical fitness conditions.
Pay: it isn't a salary, but hourly allowances for call-outs, duty shifts and training.
Duration: a 5-year commitment, renewable.
How to get involved: recruitment is at departmental level, through the SDIS (departmental fire and rescue service) or directly at a fire station near you.
The reserves
The reserves let you serve the country part-time, a few days a year, while keeping your main activity.
The armed forces operational reserve
The best known. You sign a reserve engagement contract (ESR) and serve from a few days to several weeks a year, with pay (reservist allowances). It's open from age 17, subject to fitness and nationality conditions. It's one of the schemes the State is seeking to expand significantly by the end of the decade, as part of the National Guard and the military programming law.
The gendarmerie and police reserves
On the same principle, you can serve in the operational reserve of the gendarmerie or the national police, with suitable training and an allowance.
How to get involved: the main platform for the armed forces and the National Guard is sengager.fr; for the gendarmerie and police, each force's recruitment site.
Not to be confused: the civic reserve (réserve civique) is an unpaid, volunteer commitment — closer to bénévolat than to volontariat.
Why these commitments will matter
Against a backdrop of national resilience, the need for volunteer firefighters and reservists is rising, and recruitment campaigns are multiplying. Looking into it now means getting a head start.
Find a volontariat mission
To explore all volontariat missions — Service Civique, firefighters, reserves — browse the listings on volontariat.com, wherever you are in France.