French Foreign Legion information. An online project dedicated to the famous Foreign Legion.
This week, on February 17, volunteers from the 2nd Volunteer Company (2e CEV), 4th Foreign Regiment (4e RE) of the French Foreign Legion became legionnaires and obtained their Képi blanc (White kepi) during a ceremony at Lagrasse Abbey, southern France.
Read more4e RE: Fresh legionnaires obtaining their Képi blanc
As stated, the 2nd Foreign Infantry Regiment (2e REI) of the French Foreign Legion received its first VBCI armored vehicles, on January 31, 2015. Five days later, the legionnaires of 2e REI conducted an exercise with their new equipment.
As stated in Foreign Legion Operations of December 2014, legionnaires from the 1st Company of the 1st Foreign Engineer Regiment (1er REG) are being placed in French Guiana (South America) now. In January 2015, they participated in Operation Harpie.
The legionnaires from the Parachute Commando Group (Groupement des Commandos Parachutistes, GCP) of the Foreign Legion’s 2nd Foreign Parachute Regiment (2e REP) trained together with SA 330 Puma (Super Puma) helicopters from the Solenzara Helicopter Squadron (Escadron d’hélicoptères 01.044 Solenzara, EH 1/44) in Corsica last week.
On January 31, 2015, the 2nd Foreign Infantry Regiment (2e REI) of the French Foreign Legion received its first VBCI armored personnel carriers, replacing the previous armored vehicles of the regiment – VAB, used in 2e REI since 1982.
According to the official website of the 2nd Foreign Parachute Regiment (2e REP), the only airborne unit of the French Foreign Legion, more than 450 of its troops are joining military operations beyond France’s borders now, in January 2015.
Read more2e REP: More than 450 para-legionnaires taking part in military operations
While around 1,350 French soldiers have been patrolling in Paris since the attacks of 7th January 2015, legionnaires from the 1st Foreign Cavalry Regiment (1er REC) are patrolling now in Marseille, the second largest city in France.
Today, the Foreign Legion published a nice French documentary about the art within the Legion and how the Legion had (and still has) an influence on artists – painters, poets, novelists, singers etc.
After the recent attacks in Paris, the French government decided to deploy another hundreds of soldiers to the capital to boost security. In Paris, there had already been around 1,000 military personnel since the end of December as part of Vigipirate, France’s national security alert system. Since January 11, around 1,350 French soldiers have been patrolling in the streets. The members of the Foreign Legion are among these troops: legionnaires and even the reservists (non-legionnaires) serving within the Legion.
As previously mentioned, Exrcise Iberian Star 2014 took part in Spain in November 2014. Spanish legionnaires from Spanish Legion’s VIII Bandera (8th Battalion) and French legionnaires from the 2nd Foreign Infantry Regiment (2e REI) were involved in this exercise, together with Welsh and Irish soldiers from the British Army. See video.
Read moreVideo: Exercise Iberian Star with the Spanish Legion
French Foreign Legion units participate in operations outside of France, throughout the world. See the list of their deployment in December 2014.