Srilanka, Nov. 29 -- The move is part of a wide shift across Europe, where NATO members that have long enjoyed decades of peace are anxious about US President Donald Trump's shifting priorities and Russia's aggressive posture.

"France cannot remain idle," Macron said in a speech to the 27th Mountain Infantry Brigade in Varces, in the French Alps.

The French President said the plan was "inspired by practices of our European partners... at a time when all our European allies advance in response to a threat that weighs on us all."

The voluntary scheme is to be opened up to 18- and 19-year-olds, who would be paid, and would last 10 months. The costs would be some 2 billion (2.32 billion), which Macron called "a significant and necessary ef...