New Documentary: The secrets of an unmerciful selection

On the eve of 2018 Bastille Day, the French TV channel W9 published another part of its Enquête d’action magazine, now dedicated to the French Foreign Legion and its selection and basic training.

The well-made documentary shows volunteers joining the Legion, their first steps at Fort Nogent in Paris and their way to Aubagne to be selected or rejected (btw, we can see clearly that it’s not an advantage to be “too good”, the Legion doesn’t need Rambos or Terminators). Finally, the selected candidates left Aubagne for Castelnaudary, the home of the 4th Foreign Regiment (4e RE). The volunteers have to spend four weeks at one of the three farms of the regiment to adopt the absolute basics of the Legion e.g. discipline, cohesion, military reflex (re-)actions, singing, marching or basic French.

The 50+ volunteers of the 2nd Enlisted Volunteer Company (2e CEV), 4e RE are led by a German platoon leader, a long-serving legionnaire and an ex-paratrooper. After the four weeks spent on the farm, they are ready to march their two-day “Kepi blanc march” to obtain the famous Kepi blanc (White kepi) and to be called legionnaires. However, another 12 weeks of training and at least 4,5 years of service wait them yet…

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