As we informed earlier, three regiments of the French Foreign Legion have deployed their men to New Caledonia in the southwest Pacific Ocean, east of Australia, since June 2023. The legionnaires should stay in this special overseas collectivity of France for four months, as is common practice for the so-called short duration mission (MCD). See some new images from taken during their deployment in August.
2e REP: Diamond Strike 23 in Australia
In late June 2023, a platoon of the Foreign Legion’s 2nd Foreign Parachute Regiment (2e REP) was detached to the Australia Army’s 7th Brigade to participate in Exercise Diamond Strike. Learn more and see some images.
2e REP: 2023 Exposition in Calvi
From July 10 to August 18, 2023, an exposition dedicated to Foreign Legion paratroopers is to be open in Calvi, Corsica, organized by the 2nd Foreign Parachute Regiment (2e REP).
2e REP: 2023 Operational jump in Niger
On May 15, 2023, a detachment of the famous 2nd Foreign Parachute Regiment (2e REP), the only airborne unit of the French Foreign Legion, conducted a night operational jump in Niger, a landlocked country in West Africa and a former French colony. The operation was carried out alongside Nigerien troops and aimed at seizing a military base of the Saharan jihadists.
45th Anniversary of the Battle of Kolwezi
45 years ago, on May 17, 1978, legionnaires of the French Foreign Legion’s 2nd Foreign Parachute Regiment (2e REP) in Corsica were alerted and the next day, they took off in direction of then Zaire in Central Africa. There, on May 19, they jumped over Kolwezi, a mining center in the south of the country. The legionnaires would rescue over 2,000 Europeans captured and held by local rebels…
Foreign Legion: 2023 Victory in Europe Day
On May 8, 2023, the French Foreign Legion units commemorated the 78th anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe, which came after the definitive overall surrender of Nazi Germany to the Allies, signed in Berlin. During the final battles in Europe in May 1945, three Legion units participated: the RMLE (3e REI now), 1er REC, and the 13e DBLE. See some images from the 2023 Victory in Europe Day celebrations.
Foreign Legion: 2023 Camerone Day
The 30th of April 2023 marked the 160th anniversary of the 1863 Battle of Camerone, an epic moment in the history of the French Foreign Legion in which its 65 men faced some 2,000 Mexican adversaries. The famous battle is portrayed as a pure example of bravery and the determination to fight to the finish, and gave the Legion its character and esprit de corps. Therefore, Camerone Day became the most important holiday for all current or former members of this exceptional military unit. See 2023 Camerone Day pictures from several Legion regiments.
10 years ago: Staff Sergeant Harold Vormezeele was killed in Mali
Ten years ago, during a battle with local rebels in Mali, West Africa, Staff Sergeant Harold Vormezeele was killed. He was a member of the commando group with the 2nd Foreign Parachute Regiment (2e REP).
Read more10 years ago: Staff Sergeant Harold Vormezeele was killed in Mali
2e REP: 2023 Exercise Caillaud
In January 2023, a class of the Saint-Cyr Special Military School (ESM), France’s most prestigious military academy, partook in an exercise in Corsica. There, the future officers trained alongside legionnaires of the 2nd Foreign Parachute Regiment (2e REP), also a prestigious unit within the French Army.