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
2e REP: 2023 Exhibition in Calvi
From July 10 to August 18, 2023, an exhibition dedicated to Foreign Legion paratroopers will be held in Calvi, Corsica, organized by the 2nd Foreign Parachute Regiment (2e REP).
1er REG, 13e DBLE: 2023 Training in Mexico
From June 5 to 9, 2023, legionnaires of the 1st Foreign Engineer Regiment (1er REG) and the 13th Foreign Legion Demi-Brigade (13e DBLE) were carrying out joint military activities in Acapulco, Mexico.
13e DBLE: 2023 Commemoration of the Battle of Bir Hakeim
Last weekend, from June 9 to 11, 2023, the 13th Foreign Legion Demi-Brigade (13e DBLE) opened Camp Larzac — its military base in southern France — to the public, on the occasion of the 81st anniversary of the Battle of Bir Hakeim.
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2e REG: 2023 French Guiana
In early June 2023, men from the French Foreign Legion’s 2nd Foreign Engineer Regiment (2e REG) started their four-month deployment to French Guiana, South America. They will reinforce French troops there.
DLEM: 2023 DIO Training in Botswana
In May 2023, an operational training detachment (DIO) of the Foreign Legion Detachment in Mayotte (DLEM) provided military training to local soldiers in Botswana, Southern Africa.
Lieutenant Colonel Pierre Jeanpierre
On May 29, 1958, during military operations in the Guelma region of Northeastern Algeria, a helicopter hit by rebel fire crashed to the ground. On board, along with the pilot and a mechanic, Lieutenant Colonel Pierre Jeanpierre, a legendary officer of the French Foreign Legion and the head of what was then one of the best units of the French Army. All the three were dead. To this day, Lt. Col. Jeanpierre remains the last high-ranking officer of the Foreign Legion to be killed in action. The following article was written in his memory.
2e REP: 2023 Operational jump in Niger
On May 15, 2023, a detachment of the famous 2nd Foreign Parachute Regiment (2e REP), the only airborne unit of the French Foreign Legion, conducted a night operational jump in Niger, a landlocked country in West Africa and a former French colony. The operation was carried out alongside Nigerien troops and aimed at seizing a military base of the Saharan jihadists.