The 3rd Company of the 13th Foreign Legion Demi-Brigade (13e DBLE) has been deployed in New Caledonia, a French overseas territory in the South Pacific, since April 2025. The Short-Term Mission (Mission de Courte Durée, MCD), which usually lasts four months, focuses on maintaining order and security in the region. The company has temporarily reinforced the New Caledonia Pacific Marine Infantry Regiment (RIMaP-NC).
70 years ago: A large center for Foreign Legion disabled veterans was completed
In May 1955, a large semicircular building in southern France, containing 200 beds and modern medical and support facilities, was completed and inaugurated. It opened to wounded legionnaires as a center for their professional and social reintegration. As the Legion’s needs evolved after the 1950s, the institution adapted to new challenges, housing older, often solitary individuals facing personal hardships.
Read more70 years ago: A large center for Foreign Legion disabled veterans was completed
2e REP: Exercise Libecciu 2025
In May 2025, the 2nd Foreign Parachute Regiment (2e REP) carried out “LIBECCIU 2025” – a major military exercise across Corsica, from the Balagne region to Bonifacio. This demanding two-week training operation was designed to prepare French Foreign Legion paratroopers for the most challenging combat scenarios.
2e REI: 2025 Infernal Run
On May 17, 2025, the Camp des Garrigues near Nîmes, southern France, hosted another edition of the Infernal Run, an extreme obstacle course organized by the 2nd Foreign Infantry Regiment (2e REI) of the French Foreign Legion. The event attracted 800 participants, including a record-breaking 300 civilians eager to test their limits alongside legionnaires and 300 members from non-Legion military units. This year’s race was graced by the presence of Major Gérald Michiara as a special guest.
4e RE: 2025 Challenge of the Recruits
A new video released on the official YouTube channel of the French Foreign Legion offers an authentic look into the final stage of basic training in the 4th Foreign Regiment (4e RE) in Castelnaudary. As part of the new combat hardening course (module d’aguerrissement), recruits face a series of intense physical and mental trials designed to test their resilience, endurance, and cohesion.
1er REG: 2025 Victory in Europe Day Across the Caribbean
On May 8, 2025, French military personnel stationed across the Caribbean joined the rest of France in solemnly commemorating the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe. Among those taking part were legionnaires from the 2nd Company of the 1st Foreign Engineer Regiment (1er REG). They have been stationed in Martinique, an overseas region of France in the eastern Caribbean Sea, since late January and serve as part of the 33rd Marine Infantry Regiment (33e RIMa).
Read more1er REG: 2025 Victory in Europe Day Across the Caribbean
Foreign Legion: 2025 Victory in Europe Day
On May 8, 2025, Foreign Legion units took part in the celebrations marking the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second World War in Europe. Honor guards from various regiments participated in ceremonies held primarily in their garrison towns, with several detachments also representing the Legion in other cities across their regions. Below are images from this year’s commemorations.
80 years ago: Second World War ended for legionnaires in Europe
Between 1939 and 1945, the French Foreign Legion men saw nearly every front of the Second World War – from Norway and France to North Africa, the Middle East, Italy, mainland Europe, and the jungles of Indochina. They fought under both Vichy and Free French command in some of the war’s most challenging campaigns. Our new article traces the Legion’s complex role during the war, its internal transformations, battlefield engagements, and the legacy it carried into the postwar world.
Read more80 years ago: Second World War ended for legionnaires in Europe
Foreign Legion: 2025 Camerone Day
April 30, 2025, marked the 162nd anniversary of the Battle of Camerone, the defining event in the French Foreign Legion’s history, when 62 legionnaires under the command of Captain Jean Danjou faced a force of 2,000 Mexican troops. Refusing to surrender, they fought to the very end, with only three able-bodied legionnaires left standing. Commemorations of this anniversary were held across all Legion units and garrisons, both in France and abroad. The following post includes images from several of these ceremonies.
Colonel Raphaël Vienot (1804 – 1855)
Colonel Raphaël Vienot was a distinguished French officer who concluded his military career as a colonel in the French Foreign Legion during the Crimean War. One of the Legion’s most important figures in history, Vienot became renowned not only for his leadership abilities but also for the bravery and dedication he demonstrated in service to France, ultimately sacrificing his life during the night assault of May 1–2, 1855.
2e REP: 2025 Camerone Day Challenge
Recently, legionnaires of the 2nd Foreign Parachute Regiment (2e REP) took part in the annual Camerone Day Challenge, a series of sports competitions held in the days leading up to the main day of the French Foreign Legion to which the regiment belongs.