They still in existance?
They still have the same rules? (only foreigners, no questions asked, get a new legionary name when you join)
They still used in action? Where?
When was the last time?
Are/were they considered an elite force?
Yes.
No. They do ask questions now. But you still get a legionnary name. And you better pay attention becuase you are expected to learn french fast. On your own.
Yes, I don’t know.
I don’t know.
Sort of.
sorry, I can’t remember where I last read an article about them, but it was within the last couple years.
Yes the Legion is still in existance. My friend was in it less than ten years ago.
They are not only for foreigners.
They do ask some questions - they won’t take just anyone and will sometimes give info to the police, but not necessarily.
They do let you join under an assumed name.
They certainly consider themselves an elite force. As far as I know, they do get training that is more specialized than an infantryman in a normal army.
Their divers were featured in an issue of “Dive” magazine, the official magazine of the British Sub Aqua Club, a few years ago.
What’s the deal with the FFL?
When and why was it started?
Are they famous for any big battles or decisive victories?
MtM
The Legion’s 2e Regiment Etranger d’Infanterie (2e REI), 2e Regiment Etranger de Parachutistes (2e REP) and 1er Regiment Etranger de Cavalerie (1er REC) fought in the first Gulf War and served in Bosnia until 1996.
I get the impression they’re not an “elite” force in the sense of special operations units, but a highly trained and highly motivated infantry and light armoured force. In that sense, more in line with US or British parachute units, or Gurkha infantry battalions.
I thought they were elite in the sense that their training made them some of the best desert combat specialists around.
According to this website, the Legion’s birth in 1831 was an attempt by Louis-Philippe to purge the French army of dangerous elements that might prove hard to control at home. Fighting foreign wars kept them away from fomenting domestic dissent. The website also lists battle honours by individual unit and as historical events (via [url=http://www.frenchforeignlegion.org/database/contents.html]this page[/url).
Again, according to that site the training takes place in France (Aubagne, Castelnaudary and Perpignan). Not a desert for miles.
From the link provided by Crusoe
Elite light infantry, and special Ops.
As much as I hate to say this do you have a cite to back up the claim that yo are supposed to learn french on your own? I have seen several documentaries and read several books on the subject and all show or mention french lessons being given to the recruits. They even recently had mongolian recruit who they tried to teach french to.
You are expected to learn french very quickly. But they give you their special pocket-sized textbook (which my friend still has) with pictures and with emphasis on the words you’d need to know in the military, and they pair you up with another recruit who does speak french who can translate for you at first.
Another source of information.
A good book on joining the FFL is:
“Mouth Full of Rocks”
Or at least that’s the title I remember, it’s one of the books I realized I’d never read again.
Whistlepig
I believe that after completing your tour in the Foreign Legion, you are granted French citizenship.
I was considering joining the FFL several years ago so I did alot of research on the subject…
The French Foreign Legion still exists although there was some attempts to terminate it several years ago.
They do not take “just anyone”, they have several intakes per month but recruits have to pass a rigourous physical test before being approved (as well as psychological and medical). It involves things like rope climbing, number of laps you can do in 10 minutes etc.
If you are selected you going to the south of France at Castelnaudry near Marseille for Basic training.
Once you complete basic training you can select a unit to join, top choices go to those who finish top of their class.
The FFL has several active regiments, the “elite” one is the Parachute regiment, the 2rep which has two spec-ops groups, the DINOPS which are like Navy Seals and the CRAPS which are like Delta Force. Although I think they changed the CRAPS ancryonym recently.
Depending which regiment you select or are placed in, determines where you are stationed. The 2rep is stationed on Corsica while other regiments are stationed in France. Djibouti… somewhere in west Africa and somewhere in the French polynesians where they conduct nuclear tests are the permanent stations. I forget the names of the latter places.
The initial contract is for 5 years of service, after which you are granted French citizenship if you want it. You do not have to take a legion name when you sign up, but the option still exists.
For more information you can check out http://www.cervens.net its a website with lots of information and a web forum where lots of ex-legionnaires post and answer questions.
And if you’re ever in Aubagne, do visit the museum!
(Seriously, it’s quite a bit cool and you get to look at the mementos and uniforms collected through the campaigns. It’s a momument to the decline of french colonialism, in a way. It’s also staffed by members of the legion- the ones we spoke with were French, but spoke quite a few languages.)
AL