I wonder if France will extradite a FORMER Legionaire to his homeland if he’s wanted for a crime there.
This is what I know. The French Foreign Legion will accept a known criminal. Probably not somebody on the FBI’s Top Ten Most Wanted List, but they still take people guilty or accused of some fairly serious stuff. For example, I know they’ve recently taken an American recruit wanted by the U.S. government for, if I remember correctly, fraud and income tax evasion. In the Legion, you have several opportunities to change your name/identity. And, if you’re a Legionnaire who is wanted, they may change your name for you whether you want it changed or not–this saves the Legion a bunch of hassles with various law-enforcement agencies. They can look at their records and honestly say, “Well, Mister INTERPOL Man, we definitely do not have a fugitive with that name within our ranks.” Which I think is cool. But here’s the problem. Once you complete your enlistment, you MUST revert to your original legal name. The only exception to this is if you adopt a French spelling, changing your name from Alan to Alain for example. So, I’m wondering . . . if you join the Legion, get a name change, receive protection from the Legion, get out, and become a French citizen with your original name and are wanted by other nation’s cops or courts . . . do they just say, “Well, guess you’re shit-out-of-luck,” or what? Anybody know what the French would do in this situation?
BTW, I did a search on this and found several references to the Legion, but no answer to this specific question.
Also, I know my spelling and grammar aren’t the best, sorry.
Thanks.