2022 Foreign Legion Veterans Institution | French Foreign Legion Information

See a French Army official documentary dedicated to the Foreign Legion Institution for Disabled Veterans (IILE), based in Puyloubier, southern France. The documentary was published on the Army’s official YouTube channel in late 2022.

The Institution des Invalides de la Légion is an official retirement home of the Foreign Legion. Known as Domaine Capitaine Dajnou (Vineyard/Estate of Captain Danjou), in honor of the famous commander of legionnaires at the 1863 Battle of Camerone in Mexico, it was opened in 1955. The IILE was originally established to provide a home for legionnaires seriously wounded in the First Indochina War (1946–1954). The institution’s vast land offered them opportunities for farming and growing food crops. Later, the home became known for its vineyards (almost 100 acres / 40 hectares) and wine production, as well as the creation of handmade souvenirs to support the institution’s operations. There are also olive groves (about 25 acres / 10 hectares) for producing olive oil.

Each year, a designated Foreign Legion regiment sends a detachment of men to visit the vineyard and help harvest the grapes. This is a great opportunity for serving legionnaires to meet with their elders, the anciens.

According to the IILE’s director, Lieutenant Colonel Madonna, the home currently accommodates about 80 veterans. Only 20 of them were seriously wounded in recent conflicts and campaigns; the rest are retired legionnaires.

The documentary also features Mr. Cazabonne, 84 years old, a former Foreign Legion sergeant. He first served as a French conscript in the Algerian War between 1957 and 1959, and later in the Legion from 1965 to early 1983. For more than 39 years, he has worked in the IILE’s ceramic studio, one of the two workshops producing handmade souvenirs. As he says, the Legion gave him a lot, and he wanted to give something back. He also serves as the institution’s fanion bearer.

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