The world refuses to make civic service compulsory: 57 % no against 43 % yes, with no undecided voters.
The gender divide is total: men vote for the obligation unanimously, women against it just as unanimously. Few rounds in the archive show so perfect an opposition between two groups.
By age, the 45-54s support the obligation without reservation, while the 25-34s reject it as a bloc. The 18-24s, those most concerned, lean clearly towards refusal, and the over-65s split in two.
The debate leans the same way as the vote, and rests on one central idea: voluntary participation is the condition of genuine commitment. Young people are more motivated when they sign up of their own accord, and many already have studies, a job or other obligations.
The most endorsed voice adds an argument about real equality: the conditions for doing a civic service are not the same for everyone, whether in mobility, money or family situation, and the cost to the State would be high. An obligation would therefore create a constraint that is unequally bearable.
The supportive camp does not, in fact, defend compulsion for its own sake. Its contribution highlights social mixing and the chance for young people to invest themselves in a field they care about: environment, health, solidarity, humanitarian work. The disagreement is thus less about the scheme's value than about its being imposed.