In its edition of April 13, 2000, “La Chronique républicaine” smiled, saying, “We had probably never seen women in the barracks.” This past Saturday, girls were welcomed for the first time in France as part of the Defense Preparation Days (JAPD). The 11th Marine Artillery Regiment (11th RAMa), which previously saw boys every week, welcomed around forty young girls from the region. The arrival of girls at the JAPD highlighted the complete universality of national service, as expressed by the officer in charge of promoting the operation to the press.
The young female citizens followed the same program as the boys, which included information on civics, the role of the armed forces, potential careers in the military, as well as aptitude and intellectual capacity tests.
“Among the 75 young recruits at this JAPD, the girls often showed the most interest,” mischievously noted “La Chronique” at the end of the day.
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