French Foreign Legion
The French Foreign Legion (F. Légion Étrangère) is a military unit of the French Army since 1831.
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 five 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 his 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. In general, convicted felons are prohibited from joining the service.
Current headquarters are in Aubagne France, just outside Marseille.
Composition
There are eight regiments:
- Mainland France
- 1st Foreign Cavalry Regiment (1 REC), 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, (2 REP) based in Calvi;
- French Overseas Territories,
- Africa
- 13th Demi-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
Notable Members of the Légion Étrangère
See also
