4e RE: 2026 Remise de Kepi blanc in Strasbourg | French Foreign Legion Information

On January 11, 2026, a White Kepi Ceremony (Remise de Kepi blanc) of the French Foreign Legion took place in Strasbourg, located in eastern France near the German border. Forty recruits from the 3rd Company of Enlisted Volunteers of the 4th Foreign Regiment (4e RE) officially became legionnaires.

The recruits earned the right to wear the iconic White kepi after completing a demanding 37-mile (60 km) march carried out in harsh winter conditions, including freezing temperatures and heavy snowfall. The ceremony, held at Place du Château, at the foot of Strasbourg Cathedral, marked an important milestone in their training, which will continue for three more months before they join operational units. More than twenty flags from local Foreign Legion and other veterans’ associations were present to welcome the new legionnaires.

Just for reference, Strasbourg is the Legion’s third largest recruitment center after Paris and Aubagne. It also served as a key gathering point for German volunteers during the Indochina and Algerian Wars. Following the fall of the Eastern Bloc in 1989, the center became an important hub for recruits from Central and Eastern Europe.

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