written by Gavin Loch
December 2002 Vol 1 Issue 3

There is no more famous fighting force than the French Foreign Legion. Even today, the Legion is overwhelmed by applications from men eager to start a new life, ever drawn to its unique aura of mystery, anonymity, adventure, and chivalry. THE LIMEY reveals the enduring fascination of the Legion.

Deserting one's prosaic life and eloping to the romance of the French Foreign Legion is a famous theme many men must have dreamt about at least once. I for one, once dreamed of suddenly arriving at the Legion's headquarters with only a minimum bag of possessions to remind me of my previous life in mainstream society. There, within a particularly grueling fortnight, I absurdly became a proper Legionnaire, eligible to wear the famed white kepi. All the problems and stresses of ordinary life were behind me, and I could start a new life without outside contacts. I had achieved my metamorphosis from ordinary civilian into heroic being.

While this adventurous 'Beau Geste' image is, for many, just a fantasy, each year there are men who do take the plunge into reality and apply to join the Legion. If one does decide to join, it is best to do it in a single spontaneous action, to preserve the dramatic integrity of the gesture. Becoming a Legionnaire is the most profound act of self-denial a man can make: the surrender of the self to an esoteric military brotherhood. By enrolling in the Legion you have chosen to ostracize yourself from society in general, relationships with women, and from your personal history. Although the Legion, unlike other fighting units around the world, never advertises for recruits, the headquarters is always inundated with inquiries.

As the Legion themselves explain, three types of people join the Legion: 'Idiots, mean, evil types, and people who are completely lost.’ Their reasons for enlisting are as follows: 'to escape from the past and search for a new life; for adventure; and for the attraction of simple military professionalism.’ Decades earlier, the Legion would more or less recruit any man, regardless of his mental state or criminal background. The latter, in particular, was drawn to the Legion because of the chance to possess a completely new identity and citizenship. However, times have changed, and today the Legion is more selective about whom they let in through the hallowed gates of Aubagne, the Legion's headquarters, near Marseille. You may need the Legion, but the Legion might not need you: only one in eight of those who apply become a Legionnaire.

At Aubagne, the men called candidats will undergo a three-week 'filtering process'. They will be allowed no contact with the outside world, their possessions taken away; they will cease to have any friends, family, or home. With a new life in a new country, the Legionnaire is not merely a civilian who becomes a soldier: he is an immigrant and exile. The transition from civilian to Legionnaire is cold and swift. The officers become like their parents, and the Legion as a whole, like a new 'family'. It is a chance to start again, and to have the same opportunities they had when they were born. The aim is make him think like a Legionnaire, and to remove all thoughts of his past life.

One of the ways the Legion achieves this goal is by turning all candidates into Frenchmen (80% of Legionnaires are not French). Basic lessons in French are given, with a little booklet containing 500 vocabulary items. These words define the world as it is experienced by a Legionnaire. 'La canette', a can, is next to a picture of a can of Kronenbourg 1664, the Legionnaire's favourite beer. 'Un paquet de cigarettes' means a packet of Marlboro, the Legionnaires' brand. Anything else is not beer, or not a cigarette. Also, in the morning, breakfast consists of baguettes and coffee. By turning everyone into Frenchmen, military cohesion is achieved.

However, the ultimate process of being born again is for a Legionnaire to opt for anonymat, the traditional right of anonymity for which the Legion is renowned. A Legionnaire alters his name upon joining the regiment, and on leaving (after completing the minimum five-year contract) he can possess legal French citizenship, with passport and all, under his new name. He is forbidden any contact with his relatives and must not be photographed. His only existence as a human being is as a Legionnaire. If, at the end of the three weeks in Aubagne, the candidat is among the few successful, he will be issued with his equipment, le paquetage. It will contain all the personal items and clothing he will need in his five years in the Legion. Above all, it will contain the most prized item of all: the prestigious kepi blanc. A symbol of veneration and honour, it has been worn by thousands of proud Legionnaires through the ages; the King of Serbia and Cole Porter among them.

Aubagne, however, is only the first stage of becoming a true Legionnaire. Near Toulouse, in southern France, lies the small town of Castelnaudary. The town is also home to the Training Regiment of the French Foreign Legion. It is here that the successful Legion recruits will be sent for fifteen weeks of intense mental and physical training. A night run of fifteen and a half miles over rough terrain carrying a fifteen-kilo pack must be completed within three hours. He must pass two basic examinations, learn several of the Legion's marching songs, be on guard duty for 192 hours, and undergo unexpected, will-destroying punishments, such as the “appel,” or evening roll call. The pointlessness of this exercise, repeated night after night, inculcates unquestioning obedience, cauterizing free will. Needless to say, not all recruits make it. After this, some undergo further specialist training in the Legion's elite airborne unit, the 2nd Foreign Parachute Regiment, based in Calvi on the island of Corsica, or in the jungles of French Guyana in South America.

Since its foundation by royal decree of Louis-Philippe in 1831, the Legion has enjoyed an image of mystery, romance and heroism. In the years since this date, the Foreign Legion has served France, and often the cause of the free world. Today's Legionnaire is the direct heir to a long line of adventurers. Military achievements in Europe (2 World Wars), Mexico in the1860s (the famous battle of Camerone in 1863), Africa, and Southeast Asia have indelibly associated them with danger, endurance, and courage. Camerone, on 30 April 1863, is the battle that has come to epitomize the fighting spirit and 'esprit de corps' of the Legion. In the battle, a dwindling number of Legionnaires (only 60 to start with) held off a large Mexican force of 2000, and died with honour in the attempt. To this day, the name of Camerone is inscribed on all the regimental colours and standards of the Foreign Legion. Nowadays, it is the only fully professional part of the French army, with a current strength of about 8,500 men.

Today, recognized as a crack force, the Legion has become a spearhead: expert in modern fighting techniques, able to survive in some of the world's harshest environments, and in the use of the most advanced weapons. A few years ago in Paris, I witnessed the Legion marching down the Champs Elysees, in remembrance of Camerone. Crowds watched and listened in admiration as the Legionnaires began their slow, menacing stride down the boulevard, chanting the famous marching song “Le Boudin” (referring to the sausage-shaped tent roll carried on the Legionnaires' back-pack). This display is about pride and dignity, and makes the French people feel honoured. At the front of the pack is a Legionnaire carrying an ornate regimental flag, in the colours of France, with gold laurel leaves. Across the middle is inscribed the Legion's famous motto, and one that encapsulates the true spirit of this elite fighting force: Honneur et Fidelite.