General Christian Piquemal, who commanded the French Foreign Legion from 1994 to 1999, died on October 23, 2026, at the age of 85. A funeral Mass was held on October 30 at the Church of Saint-Sauveur in Aubagne, the Legion’s main garrison town. In accordance with his final wishes, his ashes are to be laid to rest in the Legion veterans’ communal vault at the Foreign Legion Institution for Disabled Veterans (IILE) in Puyloubier.
Major Gérald: Sports Tests of French Foreign Legion Selection
In his new video, Major Gérald, the popular senior non-commissioned officer of the French Foreign Legion, sets aside his usual physical training content to answer one of the questions his viewers ask most often: how do the sports tests at Legion selection actually work? Now serving with the Legion’s Communication Center (a unit handling media relations and the Legion’s social media), he filmed this video at the Selection and Enlistment Center (CSI) of the 1st Foreign Regiment (1er RE) in Aubagne, the Legion’s headquarters near Marseille, where the entire selection process takes place.
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2026 Bastille Day Military Parade
Paris marked Bastille Day (France’s national day) on July 14, 2026, with its annual military parade down the Champs-Élysées, running from the Arc de Triomphe to the Place de la Concorde in front of President Emmanuel Macron — his last such parade before his term ends in 2027. As usual, the French Foreign Legion participated.
Foreign Legion: 2026 Camerone Day
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.
Full-Body Circuit Training with Major Gérald
In his latest training video from early April 2026, Major Gérald, the popular senior non-commissioned officer of the French Foreign Legion and head of the Sports Office at the 1st Foreign Regiment (1er RE) in Aubagne, presents a comprehensive circuit training session designed to develop overall physical conditioning. The session is intended for soldiers and fitness enthusiasts who want to maintain a versatile and functional level of fitness using minimal equipment, adaptable to both military settings and home environments.
55 Years Ago: A Campaign Ended in Africa
55 years ago, in late 1970, the last men of the French Foreign Legion returned from Central Africa, where they had been deployed as part of Operation Limousin in Chad – the first French operation of this scale since the end of the Algerian War. For the Legion, playing the leading role, it confirmed its ability to conduct prolonged interventions far from its bases, under demanding conditions and with limited resources. This website is the first medium, in France and beyond, to offer a complete and detailed study of the Legion’s involvement in this campaign.
1er RE: 2026 Regimental Exercise
In January 2026, the 1st Foreign Regiment (1er RE) in Aubagne, the French Foreign Legion’s “motherhouse” in southern France, held a regimental field exercise. Now wearing the new BME uniform but still carrying the trusty old FAMAS rather than the newer HK 416 F rifle (one of the last French Army units to do so), the 1er RE legionnaires completed a regimental march from Aubagne to Marseille, making their way through downtown in full kit. Then they moved on to live-fire range training, which wrapped up with a shared evening around the campfire, despite heavy rain. See the video.
Foreign Legion: 2025 Christmas Challenges
In mid-December 2025, a series of Challenges de Noël (Christmas Challenges) took place in regiments of the French Foreign Legion, both in France and abroad. These anual events are friendly competitions between companies of the same regiment. They are not about winning alone, but about building fighting spirit, teamwork, and unit cohesion. For hard-working legionnaires, the challenges also bring a moment of fun and relaxation. They are usually organized shortly before Christmas.
Major Gérald: Fundamentals of Close-Quarter Combat with a weapon
In early December 2025, the French Foreign Legion released a new training video on its official YouTube channel featuring Major Gérald, the popular senior non-commissioned officer of the Legion. In this new video, Major Gérald introduces the fundamentals of close-quarter combat with a weapon: specifically, an assault rifle with a fixed bayonet.
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Foreign Legion: 2025 Changes of Command in six regiments
During the summer of 2025, several regiments within the French Foreign Legion underwent significant leadership changes, reflecting the regular rotation of senior officers across this elite force. These appointments are part of the French Army’s standard two-year command rotation cycle and affect both mainland and overseas units.
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PHOTOS: Foreign Legion Saharan Battery from 1939 to 1942
The latest part in our series on interesting photographs presents an exceptionally rare collection depicting members of the first officially established Saharan unit of the French Foreign Legion, spanning from mid-1939 to the weeks following the Allied landings in North Africa in late 1942. These images include the only publicly known photographs of a Foreign Legion Saharan unit taken before the Second World War.
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