Miss France 2024, Eve Gilles, visited Mayotte in late August, including the military base of the former Foreign Legion Detachment in Mayotte (DLEM), a unit which right now is transforming into a new regiment, the 5th Foreign Regiment (5e RE).
DLEM: 2024 Camerone Day in Mayotte
Watch images from Mayotte, a French overseas department in the Indian Ocean, where the Foreign Legion Detachment in Mayotte (DLEM) commemorated the 161st anniversary of the 1863 Battle of Camerone.
DLEM: 2024 DIO Training in Lesotho
From March 14 to 22, 2024, a detachment of the Foreign Legion Detachment in Mayotte (DLEM) provided a military training mission to their partners in Lesotho, a sovereign enclave of South Africa.
Foreign Legion: 2023 Armistice Day
In most English-speaking countries, November 11 is known as Veterans Day or Remembrance Day, honoring military veterans and those who have died in the line of duty. In France, this day is still known as Armistice Day, in memory of the 1918 armistice signed between the Allies and Germany that ended World War I. Since 2012, all those who died for France have also been commemorated during Armistice Day. The French Foreign Legion participates annually in those ceremonies. See images.
DLEM: 2023 DIO Training in Madagascar
From September 12 to October 2, 2023, a detachment of the Foreign Legion Detachment in Mayotte (DLEM) provided a military training mission for the graduates of the military academy and the national school for non-commissioned officers in Antsirabe, Madagascar, a large island in the Indian Ocean located south-east of Mayotte.
50 years ago: A new Foreign Legion unit in the Indian Ocean was born
50 years ago, on August 1, 1973, a small independent unit of the Foreign Legion was officially activated in the South Indian Ocean, near Madagascar. Its main mission was to control the strategically important Mozambique Channel, as well as keep French presence in the region.
Read more50 years ago: A new Foreign Legion unit in the Indian Ocean was born
DLEM: 2023 DIO Training in Botswana
In May 2023, an operational training detachment (DIO) of the Foreign Legion Detachment in Mayotte (DLEM) provided military training to local soldiers in Botswana, Southern Africa.
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.
2022 Legion Christmas nativity scenes
Christmas Eve marks the second most important holiday within the French Foreign Legion, traditionally a pro-Catholic institution. Thus, for that day, legionnaires in all units of the Legion create original nativity scenes and compete to see which one is the nicest and most original. This Legion tradition is unique within the French Army.
Foreign Legion: 2022 Armistice Day
In France, the 11th of November marks Armistice Day. That day – known as Remembrance Day (or Veterans Day) in mostly English-speaking countries – the entire nation in France and abroad commemorates the end of hostilities of World War I. Thus, yesterday, on November 11, even the French Foreign Legion – as well as the rest of the French Armed Forces – commemorated the 104th Armistice Day, and remembered the 36,000 legionnaires and foreign volunteers who were killed or wounded during WWI. See the photos.
DLEM: 2022 DIO Training in Madagascar
In early September 2022, a group of instructors with the Foreign Legion Detachment in Mayotte (DLEM) returned from Madagascar, a large island in the Indian Ocean located south-east of Mayotte. In Madagascar, the men provided military training to local soldiers.