4e RE: September 2019 Remise de Kepi blanc in Sète | French Foreign Legion Information

In early September 2019, a French Foreign Legion enlisted volunteer platoon of the 4th Foreign Regiment (4e RE) finished their initial four-week instruction and after having passed a long march, they were allowed to make a military oath and become legionnaires. This time, the ceremony took place in Sète in southern France.

Traditionally, the four-month basic training of the Foreign Legion starts with an initial four-week instruction at one of the three isolated farms lying not far from Castelnaudary (4e RE garrison town) in southern France. At the end of this instruction, a two-day march with full kit (about 40 miles / 60 km) occurs. It is known as the Marche de Kepi Blanc (White Kepi March). Every volunteer have to pass this test to get the right to make a military oath, obtain the sacred White Kepi and be called Legionnaire. And, of course, to continue his basic training for the next three months.

Led by a Staff Sergeant (a long-serving legionnaire), the platoon of 44 volunteers from the 1st Enlisted Volunteer Company (1re CEV), including Americans and Russians, made their Foreign Legion oath in Sète, a port and a seaside resort on the Mediterranean with its own very strong cultural identity, traditions, cuisine and dialect, on September 3. After the successful ceremony in front of the local theatre, the fresh legionnaires left the place by singing the Képi blanc song.

Currently, the French Foreign Legion is composed of more than 8,000 men and over 140 nationalities.

Saluting platoon leader, a sergeant-instructor and future legionnaires from the 1re CEV, 4e RE in *Sète*, September 3, 2019. **Photo credit**: MidiLibre.fr

Other nice photos: Cérémonie de remise des képis blancs – Sète.

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