Chaque légionnaire est ton frère d’armes, quelle que soit sa nationalité, sa race ou sa religion. Tu lui manifestes toujours la solidarité étroite qui doit unir les membres d’une même famille. Peugeot P4 is an unarmored 4×4 off-road vehicle used by the Foreign Legion and other French Army forces. It has been produced by Peugeot since the early 1980s to replace the WWII Jeeps. The Foreign Legion has been using the Peugeot P4 since the early 1990s. The aging “P4” has been replaced gradually by Masstech T4 (see below) since 2017 and by VT4 (see below) since 2018. PGM Hécate II is a standard heavy sniper, anti-materiel rifle used by the Foreign Legion and other French Army forces. It was created in 1995 by the French rifle factory PGM Précision. The Foreign Legion has been using the PGM Hécate II since the end of 1990s. As an elite soldier, you train rigorously, you maintain your weapon as your most precious property, you are constantly concerned about your physical fitness.

All volunteers in the Foreign Legion begin their careers as basic legionnaires with one in four eventually becoming a sous-officier ( non-commissioned officer). [88] On joining, a new recruit receives a monthly salary of €1,380 in addition to food and lodgings. [89] He is also given his own new rifle, which according to the lore of the Legion must never be left on a battlefield. [11] Promotion is concurrent with the ranks in the French Army. Main articles: Foreign Legion Command and Foreign Legion Pioneers (Pionniers) The Pioneers of the 1st Foreign Regiment.One of the biggest national groups in the Legion are Poles. Polish law allows service in a foreign army, but only after written permission from the Polish Ministry of National Defence. [ citation needed] Recruitment process [ edit ] Arrival Coming out of a difficult Indochinese conflict, the Foreign Legion reinforced cohesion by extending the duration of basic training. Efforts exerted were successful during this transit; however, entering into December 1960 and the generals' putsch, a crisis hit the legion putting its faith at the corps of the Army. [49] Leather Apron ( French: Tablier de Cuir): Originally colored yellow with heritage to the 18th century and worn by the infantry sapeurs, the apron initially served the function to protect the sapeurs from wooden munitions blasts, breaching blasts and also limiting risks of penetration on obstacles in case of fall. The leather apron is of a tawny color and was officially adopted by the Legion in 1835.

Main articles: Jean de Lattre de Tassigny, Marching Regiment of the Foreign Legion, and Raoul Magrin-Vernerey Free French Legionnaires assaulting an Axis strong point at the battle of Bir Hakeim, 1942. Post-colonial Africa [ edit ] The 13th Demi-Brigade of the Foreign Legion parading through Roman ruins in Lambaesis, Algeria (c. 1958). During the 18th century; small pioneer detachments, carrying axes and other working tools, served with the grenadier companies of the infantry regiments of the French Royal Army. [2] In battle they joined with the grenadiers who led infantry assaults on fortified positions. The primary purpose of the pioneers was to use their axes to demolish the obstacles and barriers created by the enemy. Away from the battlefield the pioneers served as the regimental tradesmen, constructing and repairing buildings; or clearing access through forested terrain. In the ensuing Napoleonic retreat the regiment took part in the Siege of Antwerp 1814 and retired to Lille, where it remained until Napoleon's abdication in April 1814. [8] While the Foreign Legion historically did not accept women in its ranks, there was one official female member, Susan Travers, an Englishwoman who joined Free French Forces during World War II and became a member of the Foreign Legion after the war, serving in Vietnam during the First Indochina War. [61] Women were barred from service until 2000. [63] Membership by country [ edit ]In late 1831, the first legionnaires landed in Algeria, the country that would be the Foreign Legion's homeland for 130 years and shape its character. The early years in Algeria were hard on the legion because it was often sent to the worst postings and received the worst assignments, and its members were generally uninterested in the new colony of the French. [20] The Legion served alongside the Battalions of Light Infantry of Africa, formed in 1832, which was a penal military unit made up of men with prison records who still had to do their military service or soldiers with serious disciplinary problems. REP Commando Parachute Group ( GCP); Pathfinders qualified in Direct Actions, Special Reconnaissance and IMEX.