French Foreign Legion information. An online project dedicated to the famous Foreign Legion.
Since April 2022, a detachment from the 2nd Foreign Infantry Regiment (2e REI) has been in California at the invitation of the U.S. Marines from the 2d Marine Division. The legionnaires train alongside their American counterparts.
Read more2e REI: A detachment to train with U.S. Marines in California
On April 30, 2022, the French Foreign Legion commemorated the 159th anniversary of the Battle of Camerone, a crucial moment in their history. The battle is portrayed as a pure example of bravery and the determination to fight to the finish. Camerone Day is therefore the most important day of the year for all current or former legionnaires. After two years of involuntary banning, the French Foreign Legion was once again allowed to commemorate the event publicly. See 2022 Camerone Day images from several Legion regiments.
In late April 2022, another edition of the Infernal Run took place at Nimes, Southern France. The event has been organized by the 2nd Foreign Infantry Regiment (2e REI) since 2014. The run was 8 miles (12 km) long and consisted of various natural or artificial obstacles.
In early April 2022, a new English-written book dedicated to the French Foreign Legion was released: Collecting French Foreign Legion Insignia, Volume II, 2nd Foreign Infantry Regiment. Another original work of Andrew J. Mitchell, an Irish amateur historian and a Foreign Legion insignia collector.
Read moreAndrew J. Mitchell: Collecting French Foreign Legion Insignia – 2nd Foreign Regiment
In February 2022, at Camp Canjuers, legionnaires of the 2nd Foreign Infantry Regiment (2e REI) were firing MMP guided missiles for the very first time.
In the mid-1950s, violent attacks by local rebels against French targets – military, administrative and civilian – proliferated in French North Africa, which encompassed Tunisia, Algeria, and Morocco. At the beginning of 1956, several units of the Foreign Legion were stationed in Morocco. Among them was the 2nd Foreign Infantry Regiment (2e REI) of Lieutenant Colonel Jacquot. The regiment was based in the northern part of the country, in the Taza region, already well-known for the Legion.
In early January 2022, 33 new high-precision rifles SCAR-H PR (20″ version) were delivered to the 2nd Foreign Infantry Regiment (2e REI) in Nimes. They are intended to replace the outdated FR-F2 sniper rifle. The delivery is part of the planned 2019-2025 modernization of the French Army.
As every year, all legionnaires in all units of the French Foreign Legion prepared nativity scenes for Christmas Eve, the second most important holiday within the Legion. That included also the men with the 2nd Foreign Infantry Regiment (2e REI). See the nice results in the videos published by the regiment.
On the afternoon of November 18, 2021, a corporal with the 2nd Foreign Infantry Regiment (2e REI) accidentally drowned in Southern France, during a scheduled and supervised military training activity. Despite the intervention of the medical team present on the spot and the rescue services, he was in cardiac arrest and could not be resuscitated.
The 11th of November marks Armistice Day in France. That day the entire nation commemorate the end of hostilities of World War I. Thus last Thursday, on November 11, the French Foreign Legion – as well as the rest of the French Armed Forces – commemorated the 103rd Armistice Day, and remembered the 36,000 legionnaires and foreign volunteers being killed or wounded during the war. See the photos.
Between October 15 and 21, a full-scale multinational Exercise Baccarat 2021 occurred in Southern France. Besides the Foreign Legion units, U.S. Marines and Spanish soldiers also participated.