Importance of the French Foreign Legion

Alsina González
Specialist journalist and researcher

It is difficult for someone to talk about the French army and not mention the Foreign Legion, the most famous, admired and feared elite body of French troops in the world.

To get an idea of ​​the reputation of this body, let's take an anecdote: at the end of the Gulf War in 1991, General Norman Schwarzkopf was honorably distinguished as a private first class of the French Foreign Legion, being the first and so far only North American to achieve such distinction.

This was granted because troops from this fearsome unit had participated in the war.

Schwarzkopf himself recounted that, after the ceremony, some legionaries called him aside and handed him a piece of paper with a telephone contact. They told him that if he ever had problems anywhere in the world, to call them.

Schwarzkopf smiled, thinking it was a joke, but his face changed when he saw the serious faces of those men. What they told him was true: “now you are one of us”, and this implied that, wherever he went and in whatever situation, they would come to the rescue.

Probably, this anecdote is possible because the Legion is the only body of the army that does not swear fidelity to France, if not to itself, to the Legion.

However, in their individual and collective code of honor, it is explicitly stated that legionnaires serve France with honor.

His oath is explained by his esprit de corps (in French, esprit de corps), since it welcomes soldiers from all over the world, who have grown up and have been educated in different cultures and speaking different languages.

The French Foreign Legion was founded in 1831 by order of King Louis-Philippe I to accommodate foreigners who were then serving in various units of the French army.

Historically, it has not been uncommon for people from some countries to serve in the armies of others, but in the 19th century the states-nation, and governments want to separate “theirs” from “the rest”.

Its first parking lot was in French Algeria, and according to the law it could not be used on French territory. His first significant military interventions were in the First Carlist War in Spain and in Mexico.

From the beginning, the rank and file soldiers were exclusively foreigners, but the commanders were only Gauls. The promotion of foreign soldiers only reached the non-commissioned officer ranks, or once they acquired French nationality.

In the Franco-Prussian War of 1870/71, the Legion intervened for the first time on French soil, breaking the law, but due to an urgent need for troops.

In the 1880s they built their reputation and also equated their image to the desert sands of the African continent (which is also where almost all the filmography related to this body).

If in the First World War the Legion saw action in various battles on the French front, in the Second its activity was scarce.

During the first world conflagration, the legionnaires took part in notable battles such as that of Artois, the Somme or the slaughterhouse that will be Verdun.

In the following world war, they operated mainly in Norway at the beginning of the war, and also in North Africa and Syria.

Following this war, the Legion fought in Indochina, a conflict in which the most notable battle is perhaps that of Dien Bien Phu. At the same time, the legionnaires were present, without interruption, in French Morocco (until 1956, the date of the independence), and in Algeria (until 1962).

Precisely, in Algeria there was an episode of indiscipline that led to the dissolution of an entire regiment. He was the first of the paratroopers, who rose up in arms against the government de Gaulle in 1961 to protest against the talks that would eventually lead to Algerian independence the following year.

Once the French colonial empire was finished, the Legion seemed destined to end its history. But the needs of modern conflicts led her to reinvent herself.

Thus, the current Legion derives from the time of decolonization, having been reconsidered as a rapid intervention force anywhere in the world where it is required.

As I referred to at the beginning of this article, the Legion also fought in the 1991 Gulf War.

Other interventions that they have had since then have been in international conflicts in which France has collaborated with other countries with the creation of an interposition force, or when French interests have been affected, as in the case of former colonies finery.

These interventions include Chad, Congo, Rwanda, Zaire, Bosnia, Somalia, Kosovo or Mali.

Until a few years ago, to enlist in the French Foreign Legion it was not necessary to give a real identity.

Even now, to make the income effective, an invented pseudonym (legionnaire name) can be used. Let's just say that not many questions are asked when accepting recruits, which has given the Legion the aura of being a refuge for criminals of all kinds, something that was the case in the past, but is currently looked at much more, at least with regard to international criminals, since it is required a document identification (such as a passport) at the time of registration.

However, the price to pay for the anonymity and refuge that the Legion provides is high: a training and brutal training, both physically (above all) and psychologically, and the knowledge that they are "expendable" soldiers, who if they have to be sent to die, are sent.

After three years of service in the Legion, a legionnaire can apply for French citizenship. In any case, whether or not he has completed this period, every legionnaire will have the right to apply for citizenship if he is wounded in battle (sheds blood for France).

At the time of naturalization, the legionnaire can choose to recover his real identity or keep his adopted name, thus "disappearing" forever under another name.

Fotolia: Delkoo and Speedfighter (Logo)