1888 French Military Conscription Souvenir Medal
$ 4.23
Description
1888 FRENCH MILITARY CONSCRIPTION SOUVENIR MEDAL. This unequal system continued until the Franco-Prussian War of 1870. Shorter periods of service, alternative hospital duties or other forms of exemption were however still permitted for certain categories such as student teachers and priests. Obverse : Marianne Reverse : souvenir du tirage au sort 1888 Diameter : 37 m m or 1,45 inch. Weight : 5,5 grams Metal : copper Following France's defeat in the Napoleonic Wars, the restored Bourbon monarchy returned to its traditional reliance on long service volunteers plus some Swiss and German mercenary regiments. Numbers were filled out through limited conscription by lot, the burden of which spared the middle and upper classes who could afford to purchase exemption through the employment of paid substitutes. This unequal system continued until the Franco-Prussian War of 1870. Under the Third Republic, the French Army became the "school of the nation" utilizing general military service following the Prussian model. Shorter periods of service, alternative hospital duties or other forms of exemption were however still permitted for certain categories such as student teachers and priests. It was not until 1905 that universal military service for a period of two years, without exception on any but medical grounds, was introduced. On July 27, 1872, with the Cissey Law, military service became compulsory for all French people aged 19. As at that time, the army could only accommodate 400,000 men, a drawing of lots effectively decided the duration of active service: five years or one year. Replacement was impossible, but exemptions (students of grandes écoles, teachers, seminarians, members of the secular and regular clergy) and deferments were numerous, as well as a one-year volunteer period that allowed students paying 1500 francs to serve one year instead of five. This system provoked much criticism, particularly regarding the exemptions granted to graduates, seminarians, and breadwinners. This law denied military personnel the right to vote. The army became what was called "the Great Mute."
