# How does France protect the identies of the Foreign Legion? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 9, 2022, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-france-protect-the-identies-of-the-foreign-legion/965935 "2022-06-09T20:32:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2022, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-france-protect-the-identies-of-the-foreign-legion/965935/1 "2022-06-09T20:32:46Z")
I’m not referring to any past criminal charges in other countries. If you join the French Foreign Legion are you considered to be a member of the French military? I’m asking because members of a Foregin regiment fighting in Ukraine are being singled out as _British_ mercenaries. Somehow that means Russia can put them on trial for very serious charges. They aren’t being treated the same as a Ukrainian soldier. How does the Foreign Legion protect its members from being identified as British, American, Spanish or whatever mercenaries? There are other famous examples. There was a volunteer American flying squadron, the Flying Tigers in China during WWII. American volunteers fought with the British RAF in that war. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2022, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-france-protect-the-identies-of-the-foreign-legion/965935/2 "2022-06-09T22:01:05Z")
As to one of the questions, Foreign Legion batallions _are_ units of the French Army. (Not every country BTW requires citizenship to serve in their regular forces (USA included). ) Modern day Legionnaires _may_ but do _not_ have to enlist under assumed identity. Service provides for accelerated French citizenship, qualifying to begin application after 3 years or being wounded in battle, but that requires serving under your real identity. What a Bad Faith actor does about that, I suppose there’s not much the Legion could do. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2022, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-france-protect-the-identies-of-the-foreign-legion/965935/3 "2022-06-09T22:03:58Z")
I had the impression these men were considered members of the French military. They would have to follow the rules of engagement just like any French soldier. I haven’t seen reports of how Ukraine is controlling foreign fighters. They should be following the same rules of engagement and International law. Has the French Foreign Legion fought in any modern wars? I know they got badly bloodied in Vietnam before the US got involved. I remember reading the Foreign Legion isn’t as open to criminals. It’s been years ago and I don’t remember details of which crimes aren’t protected by Anonymity. ---
**Author:** ![Dissonance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/85f322/32.png) [@Dissonance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dissonance)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2022, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-france-protect-the-identies-of-the-foreign-legion/965935/4 "2022-06-09T22:34:49Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > Has the French Foreign Legion fought in any modern wars? I know they got badly bloodied in Vietnam before the US got involved. Pretty much everything France has been involved in from [Desert Storm to Afghanistan](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_Foreign_Legion#Post_1991). The death sentences handed down to the two Britons and a Moroccan national are actually from one of the puppet pro-Russian governments in Donbas, not Russia proper. which gives Russia a degree of separation in the political football that’s likely to be thrown around on what are grossly outrageous charges and sentences. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2022, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-france-protect-the-identies-of-the-foreign-legion/965935/5 "2022-06-09T22:36:00Z")
They don’t just march in parades. Wikipedia (so excluding black ops and similar) has them, post-1962, in Chad, Djibouti, Zaire, Lebanon, Rwanda, Gabon, Cambodia, Somalia, Yugoslavia, Central African Republic, Congo, Afghanistan, and Mali, just skimming briefly. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2022, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-france-protect-the-identies-of-the-foreign-legion/965935/6 "2022-06-09T22:38:22Z")
I didn’t realize France was involved in those wars. It makes sense that the Foreign Legion deploys first. Saving the regular French Army in reserve. ---
**Author:** ![Dissonance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/85f322/32.png) [@Dissonance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dissonance)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2022, 10:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-france-protect-the-identies-of-the-foreign-legion/965935/7 "2022-06-10T10:38:34Z")
It’s a bit more complicated than that; France didn’t end conscription until 1996, and conscripts couldn’t be required to serve outside metropolitan France under French law, only volunteers. As the Foreign Legion was entirely volunteer, they were involved in all foreign military operations, along with formations of the regular French Army composed of volunteers. Algeria was technically a part of metropolitan France until 1962, so the Algerian War saw extensive use of French conscripts, while French Indochina wasn’t a part of metropolitan France so conscripts couldn’t be forced to serve there. France sent 18,000 men to take part in Desert Shield/Desert Storm in 1990-91, which was based on the 6th Light Armored Division reinforced with elements of other units including French Foreign Legion units but again no conscripts. ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2022, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-france-protect-the-identies-of-the-foreign-legion/965935/8 "2022-06-10T13:47:18Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > It makes sense that the Foreign Legion deploys first. Saving the regular French Army in reserve. French military command doesn’t exactly have a history of coddling the Legion: **“You legionnaires are soldiers in order to die, and I am sending you where you can die.”** - _General Francois de Negrier French Foreign Legion, 1883_ ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2022, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-france-protect-the-identies-of-the-foreign-legion/965935/9 "2022-06-10T13:53:51Z")
Legionnaires are absolutely not mercenaries, by definition. Mercenaries, according to the relevant convention, must be paid substantially more than soldiers of equivalent rank in the controlling state’s armed services and cannot be regular members of the controlling state’s armed services. Neither of those conditions are true of Legionnaires.