French Foreign Legion information. An online project dedicated to the famous Foreign Legion.
On the 31st March of 1963, the famous, legendary and little-known four Foreign Legion Saharan motorized units were disbanded and their men, vehicles, traditional uniforms and fanions merged with two infantry regiments. The dream of many generations of young men, the legionnaire of the Sahara with his white kepi, V-shaped bandoliers, baggy seroual trousers, a burnous cloak and sandals, officially disappeared.
Read moreForeign Legion Saharan Motorized Companies in North Africa: History & Images
188 years ago, on 10 March 1831, a royal ordinance of Louis Philippe I, King of the French was issued. The ordinance ordered the establishment of the Foreign Legion, to engage a number of foreign deserters asking to serve France. Until the 2000s, the 10th March of 1831 marked the official birthday of the current French Foreign Legion which derived its origin from that original Legion. Nevertheless, the lineage of the Legion is far more complex and because of that, the official birthday was quietly changed in the last decade to the more neutral 9th March.
See a very interesting video showing a Chinese guy telling about his well-appreciated experience with the French Foreign Legion. This video could serve as a good motivation for guys wanting to join this unique military force.
The French Foreign Legion reminds some important events which occurred during the previous year of 2018. See the new video released by the Legion.
Between February 9 and March 10, the Foreign Legion Museum in Aubagne (southern France) organizes a temporary exposition called “Legionnaires”. The exposition will show photos of Caroline Thirion, a famous Belgian photographer, dedicated to the legionnaires of the French Foreign Legion.
As a long-existed tradition, all units of the French Foreign Legion organize Christmas challenges before Christmas Eve, the second most important holiday within the Legion. The challenges help to keep unit cohesion, to compare the force of their companies and to provide a little bit of fun for their hard-working men. See images taken during the Christmas challenges in several Legion regiments.
Discover the uniforms worn by legionnaires during common service duties, training, exercises, combat operations or military parades. The uniforms wearing in France, in French territories or during overseas operations. The French Foreign Legion Uniforms article was updated to 2019.
Read moreForeign Legion: What uniform do the legionnaires wear in 2019?
On November 11, 2018, Foreign Legion units commemorated the 100th Armistice Day marking the end of hostilities of World War I. They also remembered the 36,000 legionnaires and foreign volunteers being killed or wounded during the war. It’s not so surprising that in France between 1914-18, the RMLE (Foreign Legion Regimental Combat Team, now 3e REI) became the most decorated unit of the then French Army.