French Foreign Legion

The French Foreign Legion (F. Légion Étrangère) is a military unit of the French Army.

Table of contents

1 Membership 2 Composition 3 Reality and myths 4 Current Deployments 5 Notable Members of the Légion Étrangère 6 External links

Membership

While most of its commissioned officers are French, the rest of the Legion is made up of men from a wide variety of nationalities (including French). After serving in the Legion for a three years, the legionnaire is allowed to apply for French citizenship. A legionnaire, as the soldiers of the Legion are known, can enter the service under a pseudonym, and after four years of service can change this name at will. In the past, the Legion had a reputation for attracting criminals on the run and would-be mercenaries. In recent years, however, admission has been restricted much more severely and background checks are done on all applicants.

Composition

There are eight regiments:

• in mainland France
  • 1st Foreign Cavalry Regiment, based in Orange (armored troops)
  • 2nd Foreign Infantry Regiment, based in Nîmes,
  • 6th Foreign Engineer Regiment, based near Avignon,
  • 2nd Foreign Engineer Regiment, to be based on the Plateau d'Albion,
  • 1st Foreign Regiment, based in Aubagne (Legion headquarters),
  • 4th Foreign Regiment, based in Castelnaudary (training);
• in Corsica,
  • 2nd Foreign Parachutist Regiment, based in Calvi;
• in oversea France,
  • 3rd Foreign Infantry Regiment, based in French Guyana,
  • 5th Foreign Regiment, based in French Polynesia,
  • detachment of the Foreign Legion in Mayotte;
• abroad,
  • 13rd Half Brigade of Foreign Legion, based in Djibouti.

Reality and myths

The proposition that "French legislation prohibits the Legion from French mainland soil, and it is therefore based on Corsica" is obviously false:

• French law does not make any substantial difference between Corsica and the mainland.
• Most of the establishments of the Foreign Legion, including the headquarters, are in mainland France anyway.

The idea was that the Legion could not be used against French people, not that it could not be based on the mainland.

Current Deployments

These deployments are current as of December 2002

• 2500 to Côte d'Ivoire

Notable Members of the Légion Étrangère

• Lalande
• Koenig, General Pierre
• Messmer, Pierre
• Travers, Adjutant Chef Susan
• Cole Porter
• Simon Murray

External links

• official site of the recruitment office of the Foreign Legion
• official site presenting the components of the French ground forces
• Federation of Veteran Societies of the Foreign Legion
• Unofficial information site
• French Embassy to US, Foreign Legion section