In late July 2023, General Alain Lardet left after three years the Foreign Legion Command (COMLE) to be replaced by General Cyrille Youchtchenko, the new commander-in-chief of the Legion.
1er REC, 13e DBLE, 1er REG: 2023 CENTAC
On June 25, 2023, legionnaires of the French Foreign Legion’s 1st Foreign Cavalry Regiment (1er REC), 13th Foreign Legion Demi-Brigade (13e DBLE), and 1st Foreign Engineer Regiment (1er REG) arrived at the CENTAC Combat Training Center at the Mailly Camp, in the Aube Department of Northeastern France. Their task was to train combined arms maneuvers.
2023 Bastille Day Military Parade
Annually, a large military parade takes place in Paris to commemorate the 14th of July, the French national day, known in English-speaking countries as Bastille Day. On that most important French holiday, also the French Foreign Legion units participate in the parade in the capital. Learn more and see images.
Rehearsal for the 2023 Bastille Day parade
As every year in July, members of the French Foreign Legion are preparing dutifully for the Bastille Day Military Parade that takes place annually in Paris on July 14. See a nice video showing the legionnaires’ rehearsal for the parade.
MLE: 2023 Music Concert in the Olympia
On June 18, 2023, an important and unique concert of the well-known Foreign Legion Music Band (MLE) was held in Paris’s Olympia Hall, a popular venue for rock bands and one of the world’s most modern performance halls. See the official video.
75 years ago: An elite airborne unit of the Foreign Legion was activated
75 years ago, in France’s North Africa in early July 1948, an airborne unit of the Foreign Legion was officially constituted to take part in the First Indochina War (1946-1954) in Southeast Asia. There, the resolute unit would become a legend, as the very first French airborne battalion lost in combat.
Read more75 years ago: An elite airborne unit of the Foreign Legion was activated