Foreign Legion: 2026 Camerone Day | French Foreign Legion Information

On April 30, 2026, the French Foreign Legion observed the 163rd anniversary of the Battle of Camerone, the legendary action that forged the Legion’s identity and esprit de corps. On that day in Mexico in 1863, a company of 62 legionnaires led by Captain Jean Danjou stood against some 2,000 Mexican soldiers. The legionnaires refused to surrender and fought until only three of them remained standing. As every year, the anniversary was commemorated across all Legion units and garrisons, in France and abroad. Below are images from several of these ceremonies.

Camerone 2026: 1er RE in Aubagne

As every year, the main ceremony was held at Quartier Vienot, the Legion’s headquarters in Aubagne, southern France. The camp is home to the Foreign Legion Command (COMLE) and the 1st Foreign Regiment (1er RE).

The theme of this year’s observance was La Noblesse de servir, The Nobility of Service, recalling the Legion’s historic ties to kings, emperors, and princes who either supported it or served in its ranks, including Georgian Prince Dimitri Amilakvari and Danish Prince Aage, Count of Rosenborg.

Given this year’s theme, the ceremony was attended by guests from European royal and princely families: Prince Albert II of Monaco (accompanied by his guard coprs, the Compagnie des Carabiniers du Prince), Prince Jean d’Orléans, Count of Paris — the senior male descendant of Louis Philippe I, King of the French (who created the Foreign Legion in 1831), and Prince Jean-Christophe Napoléon — the heir of Napoleon Bonaparte, the first Emperor of the French. Also present was Colonel Mads Rahbek, commander of the Royal Danish Life Guards, representing King Frederik X of Denmark.

As tradition requires, the Legion’s most sacred relic — the wooden prosthetic hand of Captain Danjou, the fallen commander at Camerone — was paraded during the commemorations. This year, the honor of carrying the hand was given to General Thierry Burkhard, a former head of the French Armed Forces from 2021 to 2025. Burkhard began his active-duty military career in 1989 as a lieutenant in the Foreign Legion’s 2nd Foreign Parachute Regiment (2e REP), and left the Legion as colonel in 2010. He was accompanied by two warrant officers of the Legion, both veterans of the Algerian War: Adjudant-chef Jörgen Madsen, 93 years old, born in Denmark, who served 33 years in the Legion, from early 1955 to late 1987; and Adjudant-chef Luigi Da Pont, 89, born in Italy, who served 26 years in the Legion, from 1961 to 1987.

Among those attending the ceremony in Aubagne were also two other distinguished veterans of the Legion. The first was Captain Pierre Montagnon, 93, a former commander of the 4th Company of the 2e REP. He served with the Legion’s paratroopers from 1954 to 1961 and later became a businessman, historian, and writer. The second was Horst Roos, also 93, born in Germany, who served a remarkable 40 years in the Legion, from 1951 to 1991, and rose to the rank of Major — the highest non-commissioned rank in the French Army. A great athlete and Legion paratrooper, Major Roos became the first president of the Legion’s NCOs corps. Both men were promoted to the rank of Grand Officer of the Legion of Honor, France’s highest distinction.

During the ceremony, which was presided over by General Justel, the current head of the French Army, a platoon of recruits from the 2nd Volunteer Company of the 4th Foreign Regiment (4e RE), the school of the Legion, donned the iconic white kepi, took the Legion’s traditional oath, and officially became legionnaires.

The ceremony, attended by a large crowd of spectators, also featured the Legion’s military band and Pioneers, recognizable with their traditional beards, leather aprons, and axes, as well as Legion veterans from associations affiliated with the FSALE federation.

Camerone 2026: 2e REI in Nimes

This year, the 2nd Foreign Infantry Regiment (2e REI) commemorated the Battle of Camerone at Quartier Colonel de Chabrières, the regiment’s barracks in Nîmes.

More photos: Nîmes : des centaines de militaires réunis pour le 163e anniversaire de Camerone

Camerone 2026: 2e REP in Corsica

Images from Camp Raffalli near Calvi, Corsica, home to the famous 2e REP, currently the only airborne unit of the Legion. The Camerone celebrations were presided over by Mrs. Alice Rufo, Deputy Minister for the French Armed Forces and Veterans.

Camerone 2026: 13e DBLE at Camp Larzac

The 13th Foreign Legion Demi-Brigade (13e DBLE) and 2026 Camerone Day at Camp Larzac near La Cavalerie. The ceremony was presided over by General Eric Ozanne, head of the 3rd Division and a former commanding officer of the 2e REI (2012–2014). As part of the celebrations, a statue depicting a legionnaire during the Battle of Camerone was unveiled within the regiment’s barracks.

Foreign Legion - Camerone 2026: 13e DBLE at Camp Larzac

Foreign Legion - Camerone 2025: 13e DBLE at Camp Larzac

Camerone 2026: 2e REG at Saint Christol

2026 Camerone Day at Quartier Maréchal Koenig, the camp of the 2nd Foreign Engineer Regiment (2e REG), the “Mountain Regiment” of the Legion, located near Saint-Christol.

Camerone 2026: 4e RE in Castelnaudary

The 2026 Camerone Day ceremony of the 4e RE took place at Quartier Danjou in Castelnaudary, its garrison town.

Camerone 2026: GRLE in Paris

As usual, the Foreign Legion Recruiting Group (GRLE) commemorated the Battle of Camerone at Fort Nogent, its home base on the outskirts of Paris.

Camerone 2026: 3e REI in French Guiana

Camerone 2026 at Quartier Général Rollet in Kourou, French Guiana, the garrison town of the 3rd Foreign Infantry Regiment (3e REI).

Camerone 2026: 5e RE in Mayotte

Only the second commemoration of the Battle of Camerone for the 5th Foreign Regiment (5e RE) in Dzaoudzi, Mayotte, in the Indian Ocean. The regiment was reactivated in September 2024, following the reorganization of the former DLEM.

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