Foreign Legion
Sign in to saveCorps of the French Army, which is partly made up of foreign nationals
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The Foreign Legion is a military unit within the French Army that recruits soldiers from outside France, including foreign nationals. It has historically been significant as a way for France to expand its military capabilities while offering foreign individuals the opportunity to serve and potentially gain French citizenship.
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The French Foreign Legion (French: Légion étrangère, also known simply as la Légion, 'the Legion') is a corps of the French Army created to allow foreign nationals into French service. The Legion was founded in 1831 and today consists of several specialities, namely infantry, cavalry, engineers, and airborne troops. It formed part of the Armée d'Afrique, French Army units associated with France's colonial project in North Africa, until the end of the Algerian War in 1962.
Legionnaires are today renowned as highly trained soldiers whose training focuses on traditional military skills and on the Legion's strong esprit de corps, as its men come from different countries with different cultures. Consequently, training is often described as not only physically challenging, but also very stressful psychologically. Legionnaires may apply for French citizenship after three years' service, or immediately after being wounded in the line of duty: This latter provision is known as "Français par le sang versé" ("French by spilled blood").