The French Foreign Legion is a unique elite military unit that is part of the French Armed Forces. Today it numbers more than 8 thousand legionnaires who represent 136 countries of the world, including France. One thing for all of them is their service to France at a high professional level.
The creation of the legion is associated with the name of King Louis Philip I, who in 1831 signed a decree on the creation of a single military unit, which was to include several operating regiments. The main goal of the new formation was to carry out combat missions outside the French borders. To exercise the command, officers were recruited from Napoleon's army, and the soldiers accepted not only natives of Italy, Spain or Switzerland, but also French subjects who had certain problems with the law. Thus, the French government got rid of potentially dangerous people who not only possessed significant combat experience, but could also use it in conditions of political instability within the state.
This policy of the king was very logical. The fact is that the legionnaires were trained for a large-scale campaign to colonize Algeria, which required a large number of troops. But at the same time, France could not send its subjects to Africa. That is why foreigners who lived in the vicinity of Paris were recruited into the legion.
Around the same period of time, the tradition of not asking for the real names of new soldiers also emerged. Many desperate people had the opportunity to start their lives anew, getting rid of their criminal past.
Today, legion rules also allow for the anonymous reception of soldiers. As before, volunteers are not asked for their name or country of residence. After several years of service, each legionnaire has the opportunity to obtain French citizenship and start a completely new life with a new name.
It should be noted that the first rule of legionnaires is never to surrender. The beginning of this tradition was laid back in 1863, when three legionnaires held more than 2 thousand well-armed Mexican army soldiers. But, taken prisoner, thanks to their courage and valor, they were soon released with honors.
As at the time of its foundation, the French Legion is under the direct control of the head of state.
The modern Foreign Legion consists of armored, infantry, and sapper units. Its structure includes 7 regiments, including the famous paratrooper with special forces GCP, one special detachment, one semi-brigade and one training regiment.
The units of the legion are deployed in the Comoros (Mayotte), in Northeast Africa (Djibouti), in Corsica, in French Guiana (Kourou), as well as directly in France.
The peculiarity of the French Legion is that women are not allowed into it. Contracts are awarded exclusively to men between the ages of 18-40. Initially, the contract is for 5 years. All subsequent contracts can be concluded for periods ranging from six months to 10 years. In the first five-year plan, you can achieve the rank of corporal, but only a person with French citizenship can become an officer. The main body of the unit's officers is, as a rule, career military men who graduated from military educational institutions and chose the legion as a place of service.
Since mercenarism is considered a criminal offense in many countries around the world, recruitment points exist exclusively in France. For all those wishing to join the legion, testing is carried out, which includes three stages: psychotechnical, physical and medical. In addition, each recruit is interviewed separately, during which it is necessary to clearly and truthfully tell his biography. The interview is conducted in three stages, and each new stage is a repetition of the previous one. Thus, a kind of check "for lice" is carried out.
Foreign volunteers can be easily recognized by their white headgear, although only the rank and file wear it. Unit colors are green and red.
Today, about 7 and a half thousand soldiers are serving in the legion. The training of soldiers allows them to conduct operations in the jungle, at night. They were trained to carry out special operations to neutralize terrorists and rescue hostages. The main task of the legionnaires today is to prevent hostilities. They are called upon to evacuate the population from the combat zone, provide humanitarian assistance, and restore infrastructure in the regions of natural disasters.
So, there is information that the French Foreign Legion provided serious support in the conduct of the ground operation during the events in Libya. In August 2011, the legionnaires managed to eliminate the fuel and food supply base, which was the main one for Gaddafi's troops. According to some reports, several companies of the legion were transferred to Libya from Tunisia or Algeria. A little wound, in the area of Ez-Zawiya, the Foreign Legion, with small losses, managed to break into the city center, providing free access to fighters from Benghazi. The command of the legion hoped to raise the Berber population to the uprising, but this was not done.
The participation of the French Legion in the Libyan war is denied in every possible way by the French authorities, despite the fact that the press is actively discussing this issue. This position of Paris is quite understandable, since any invasion of the territory of Libya would contradict the UN resolution regarding this state, which only refers to the closure of the airspace. A similar situation had already happened before, when in 1978 in Zaire, the French government recognized that the Foreign Legion took part in the military conflict only after the legionnaires had completed their mission.
The Arab Spring has shown that foreign military personnel are present in many conflict zones. In addition to Libya, the French Legion took part in hostilities in Syria. Thus, 150 French legionnaires were arrested in Homs, and 120 French legionnaires, mainly paratroopers and snipers, in Zadabani. And although no one can confirm that these were precisely legionnaires, this assumption is quite logical, since this unit is staffed not only from France, but also from other states. Thus, France again has the opportunity to argue that there are no French citizens in Syria.
Another place where the French Foreign Legion has also been noted is the conflict that erupted in Côte d'Ivoire. One gets the impression that France has set itself the goal of creating the most aggressive image for itself on the entire European continent. Very often Paris starts the game "big", regardless of the interests of its allies in the North Atlantic Alliance. So, in April 2011, French paratroopers occupied the airport of the economic capital of Côte d'Ivoire, Abidjan. Thus, the total number of the French military corps stationed there was about 1,400 people.
The total number of the UN peacekeeping contingent in this country is 9 thousand people, of which there were only 900 French people. France independently made a decision to increase the size of its military corps, without coordinating actions with the UN leadership. The basis of the French military corps is the military of the Foreign Legion, who have been taking part in Operation Unicorn for several years. In addition, the French government said that the contingent that arrived in Côte d'Ivoire is coordinating with the unoci troops, thus actually recognizing that in addition to the "Unicorn", France is also conducting its own independent operation on the territory of the country.
Thus, the French Foreign Legion is sent to those areas where France seeks to defend its interests within or under the cover of the European Union or the North Atlantic Alliance, as well as where there are certain historical responsibilities or threats to the lives of French citizens.
