Surge in interest in the army

ARMY recruiters have seen a surge of interest following the shootings in Paris.

An average one thousand people a day have made contact with the army since the attacks, according the centre d'information et de recrutement des armées CIRFA.

A similar surge was seen in the wake of the Charlie Hebdo attacks and subsequent shootings in the capital in January.

In an interview on France 2 a spokesman for the Cirfa in Vincennes said that they had received 140 messages a day over the internet, compared to the typical 30, and a further 40 visitors in person - 50% higher than usual. In Limoges interest is up 30%.

The deputy head of recruitment for the army Thierry Marchand said that nationally it was receiving one thousand expressions of interest every day.

In January, following the Charlie Hebdo shootings and hostage taking, interest also rose 50%.

By the end of 2015 the army will have some 170,000 new candidates, compared to 120,000 in 2014.

Candidates will then be put through various security, medical, psychological and intelligence tests.

On average there are 2.4 candidates per place, however this level is lower in some areas where more positions are open such as IT technicians, mechanics and cooks.