EXCLUSIVE: Socialists, pro-Palestinian groups and anti-war activists demand that youngsters ‘mobilise’ for an International Youth Day of Action
France has faced riots (Image: Getty)
Far-Left activists have been accused of trying to ignite chaos in Britain following riots in France. Socialists, pro-Palestinian groups and anti-war activists are demanding that youngsters “mobilise” for an International Youth Day of Action.
The anarchy in France started off as student protests before they were hijacked by extreme Left-wing groups and it descended into violence, looting and clashes with police. Reform UK leader Nigel Farage warned “if we don’t wake up, the carnage in France is our future”. Organisers want to force the Government to axe defence spending, encourage support for Palestine and invest more in education and jobs.
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Riot police lost control in France (Image: Getty)
An advert is being shared among pro-Palestine activists and student groups. Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp said: “The scenes of violence and looting we have seen in France and across Europe are deeply shocking.
“The Conservative Party supports the right to free speech and peaceful protest. However, any attempt by extreme Left-wing groups to replicate this chaos in Britain should be met with the full force of the law. They cannot be allowed to unleash anarchy, riots and chaos here.
“It is concerning that police officer numbers are falling under this Labour Government, with 6,500 fewer frontline officers. As a result, the police are being left without the resources they need to fight crime and protect the public.”
A post circulating on social media says the demonstration will “rise against imperialism, capitalism, authoritarianism and the far right across all our governments internationally”. The event is being advertised for Trafalgar Square on Friday, November 20.
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The online poster said: “Following the youth protests internationally, we demand our money be used for jobs and education, not for war and occupation.”
France is imposing curfews to contain unrest after thugs torched and vandalised buildings and vehicles over the weekend. French prime minister Sebastian Lecornu stopped short of declaring a state of emergency.
But he said local leaders should impose partialised lockdowns. And Mr Lecornu warned that Left-wing groups may try to hijack the 2027 election.
“We have an extreme-Left movement that is looking to create disorder, a very deep-seated disorder in the country going right up to the presidential election,” he said. “I think that has been clearly said to us this morning by the intelligence agencies.”
Leaders of the Yellow Vest movement, one of the groups behind the demonstrations, said they would return to the streets next Saturday for “Act II”. France’s interior minister Laurent Nuñez conceded police “lost control” of the riots in several cities as the chaos intensified.
Masked protesters started fires, attacked public buildings and looted high-end stores across France.
Reform UK’s policing and crime adviser Colin Sutton said: “Britain has already seen what happens when the authorities go soft on organised disorder, so we fully expect the Metropolitan Police to take a firm, no-nonsense approach.
“That means anyone who breaks the law should face the full consequences. Reform UK’s SAFE plan will prioritise the safety of Brits with a massive expansion of stop-and-search police powers, a ban on face coverings and 30,000 more officers on the street.”
Conscription age limit for men as UK told ‘prepare for war’
If World War 3 breaks out, men of these ages could be forced to join the UK’s army and fight in Europe.
Pat McFadden discusses prospect of conscription in 2025
Preparation for WW3 worst-case scenarios could be stepped up after the head of the army called on the UK’s political leaders to start a ‘frank conversation’ with the public about preparing for war.
General Sir Roly Walker told Sky News that ‘every’ citizen will be ‘asked to make sacrifices’ and play their part in the defence of the country.
It comes in the wake of escalation between Russia and Ukraine as the US, unthinkably, appears to be siding with Russia. US President Trump has in the past week urged Ukraine to ‘get a new leader’ after signing a deal with Russia for diesel supplies, and has increasingly blamed the global price of diesel on Ukraine’s refusal to surrender to Putin, rather than the US’ war with Iran.
It’s not something anyone wants to think about, but as tensions escalate around the world, there is a possibility that World War 3 could erupt. Just this past summer, the UK government last year told people to prepare for war on British soil, and is urging better preparedness for conflict across society.
British people could be forced to join the army if WW3 breaks out (Image: Getty)
Assuming tensions continue to ramp up and a new global conflict were to erupt, there are some indicators about what would happen if the UK went to war and needed to introduce conscription, or mandatory military service, whether in a WW3 situation or not.
In WW2, conscription began for men aged between 20 and 22 in 1939, up to six months before the war actually broke out.
The UK Parliament website says: “During the spring of 1939, the deteriorating international situation forced the British government under Neville Chamberlain to consider preparations for a possible war against Nazi Germany. Plans for limited conscription applying to single men aged between 20 and 22 were given parliamentary approval in the Military Training Act in May 1939. This required men to undertake six months’ military training, and some 240,000 registered for service.”
But when war was declared, the age range was immediately widened to any man aged 18 to 41.
It continues: “On the day Britain declared war on Germany, 3 September 1939, Parliament immediately passed a more wide-reaching measure. The National Service (Armed Forces) Act imposed conscription on all males aged between 18 and 41 who had to register for service.”
The only men who weren’t called up were those who were too unfit medically, or who worked in vital industries like baking, farming, and medicine, which were vital to the war effort.
It adds: “Those medically unfit were exempted, as were others in key industries and jobs such as baking, farming, medicine, and engineering.”
By the end of 1941, women and ‘all childless widows’ between the ages of 20 and 30 were called up, while men aged up to 51 were called up for military service. Even those aged 52 to 60 were required to take part in “some form of military service.”
In 2024, Grant Shapps, who at the time was Defence Secretary, said that we are “moving from a post-war to a pre-war world”, and General Sir Patrick Sanders, Britain’s most senior army officer, called for an increase in the size of the army and said that the country needed to increase preparedness for conflict.
It isn’t clear what would happen to those refusing to serve in a potential WW3 scenario, but in WW2, British ‘conscientious objectors’ were put on trial, with some given mandatory jobs to contribute to the war effort in other ways instead.