Reviewed October 2026
If you are thinking about joining the French Foreign Legion, you probably want a simple answer: how much will I actually earn every month? The problem is that there is no single number. A young legionnaire living in barracks, a corporal in 2e REP, a mountain-qualified soldier in 2e REG and a legionnaire serving in Guyana can all have very different payslips.
During your career, the difference can be huge. A normal month as a young legionnaire can be close to the bottom of the military pay scale, while a more experienced or specialized legionnaire can earn several times more. Depending on your rank, regiment, qualifications, family situation and activity, your monthly pay can go from around €1,500 to several thousand euros.
The French Foreign Legion doesn’t have its own salary system. Legionnaires are paid under the same system as the rest of the French Army. Your final pay is built from several parts: your rank and time in service, your regiment, your qualifications, your family and housing situation, and what you actually did during the month. This is why two legionnaires with the same rank can receive very different amounts.
Instead of giving you one salary table and pretending it works for everyone, I am going to follow the main steps of a Legion career. We will look at how much you can expect when you first join, what changes when you become a corporal, what happens after a few years of service, and how qualifications, regiments, missions and family situation can change your pay.
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How Pay Changes During a Legion Career
When you first join
At this stage, your situation is still quite simple. You are a legionnaire and you live in the barracks. During basic training in Castelnaudary, your food and your place to live are free, so you normally have very few expenses. This remains true as long as you live in the barracks. At this stage, your pay mainly comes from your normal military salary, because you don’t yet have most of the extra bonuses linked to qualifications such as parachuting or high mountain.
Experience
The French Foreign Legion opens a bank account for every new legionnaire. During basic training, you normally don’t have regular access to your smartphone, so checking your salary is not as easy as it will be later. When I was in Castelnaudary, I checked my account at an ATM around the 25th of each month to see how much I had received. The amount can change from one month to another, especially once field exercises and other activities start to be added.
Official Information
Today, the official starting salary published by the French Foreign Legion is 1,572€ net per month. This is a good number to keep in mind for a new legionnaire during basic training and the first months in regiment. It’s not necessarily the exact amount you will receive every month, because extra payments can be added depending on what you do.
First months after basic training
Experience
In 2e REP, a new legionnaire usually gets his parachutist qualification within the first two or three months after arriving in the regiment. It can take longer if there are not enough aircraft available for the jumps. Once qualified, a legionnaire can receive an extra 545€ per month for the parachutist qualification. This is why the difference with another FFL regiment can become important quite early in your career.
| Situation | Normal monthly pay | Specific bonus | Estimated total net |
|---|---|---|---|
| Most FFL regiments | ~€1,580 | — | ~€1,580 |
| 2e REP after para qualification | ~€1,580 | €545 para bonus | ~€2,070 |
The official €545 para bonus is a gross amount, so it’s not added directly to the net salary. Normal payroll deductions also apply to this bonus.
Around three years of service
The next important change usually comes around three years of service, when many legionnaires become corporals. At this stage, your normal military pay increases because of your rank and time in service. You can also receive the terrestrial combat bonus, which becomes available after 24 months of service if you meet the required conditions. In 2e REP, the para bonus stays at the same rate because a corporal is still a militaire du rang. In 2e REG, some corporals may also start receiving a mountain bonus if they have completed the necessary courses and become chef de cordée.
| Situation at ~3 years | Normal monthly pay | Specific bonus | Estimated total net |
|---|---|---|---|
| Other FFL regiments | ~€1,685 | — | ~€1,685 |
| 2e REP, para qualified | ~€1,685 | €545 para bonus | ~€2,175 |
| 2e REG, chef de cordée | ~€1,685 | €130 mountain bonus | ~€1,800 |
Around six years of service
Around six years of service, the difference between career paths becomes more visible. A legionnaire may become caporal-chef and remain a militaire du rang, while another may become sergent and enter the NCO career. After five years of service, living outside the barracks can also become possible. From this point, where you serve starts to affect your normal monthly pay more because the garrison allowance depends partly on your rank and location.
| Rank and situation | Normal monthly pay | Specific bonus | Estimated total net |
|---|---|---|---|
| Caporal-chef, 2e REI | ~€1,765 | — | ~€1,765 |
| Caporal-chef, 2e REP | ~€1,785 | €545 para bonus | ~€2,265 |
| Caporal-chef, 2e REG | ~€1,820 | €130 mountain bonus | ~€1,940 |
| Sergent, 2e REI | ~€1,925 | — | ~€1,925 |
| Sergent, 2e REP | ~€1,955 | €595 para bonus | ~€2,480 |
| Sergent, 2e REG | ~€1,975 | €130 mountain bonus | ~€2,090 |
Around ten years of service
Around ten years of service, the difference becomes much bigger. For this example, we will use a caporal-chef and a sergent-chef, married, with one child and living in town. At this stage, family situation and regiment location have a bigger effect on normal monthly pay.
| Rank and situation | Normal monthly pay | Specific bonus | Estimated total net |
|---|---|---|---|
| Caporal-chef, 2e REI | ~€1,985 | — | ~€1,985 |
| Caporal-chef, 2e REP | ~€2,040 | €545 para bonus | ~€2,535 |
| Caporal-chef, 2e REG | ~€2,110 | €130 mountain bonus | ~€2,230 |
| Sergent-chef, 2e REI | ~€2,415 | — | ~€2,415 |
| Sergent-chef, 2e REP | ~€2,490 | €595 para bonus | ~€3,030 |
| Sergent-chef, 2e REG | ~€2,530 | €250 mountain bonus | ~€2,755 |
Normal monthly pay already includes the family and garrison elements and the terrestrial combat bonus. The specific bonuses shown in the table are official gross amounts. The estimated total net includes normal payroll deductions.
Around twenty years of service
The final career milestone we will use is twenty years of service. At this point, we will compare an experienced caporal-chef with an adjudant-chef. Both are married, have two children and live in town.
| Rank and situation | Normal monthly pay | Specific bonus | Estimated total net |
|---|---|---|---|
| Caporal-chef, 2e REI | ~€2,345 | — | ~€2,345 |
| Caporal-chef, 2e REP | ~€2,475 | €545 para bonus | ~€2,970 |
| Caporal-chef, 2e REG | ~€2,475 | €130 mountain bonus | ~€2,595 |
| Adjudant-chef, 2e REI | ~€3,125 | — | ~€3,125 |
| Adjudant-chef, 2e REP | ~€3,300 | €595 para bonus | ~€3,835 |
| Adjudant-chef, 2e REG | ~€3,235 | €250 mountain bonus | ~€3,460 |
Normal monthly pay already includes the family and garrison elements, the terrestrial combat bonus and, for the adjudant-chef, the normal NCO qualification payments. The specific bonuses shown in the table are official gross amounts. The estimated total net includes normal payroll deductions.
Operational Absence Allowance (ISAO)
Official Information
ISAO is an extra daily payment you can receive when a military activity prevents you from returning to the place where you normally live for the whole period between 23:00 and 05:00.
The amount depends on your rank, family situation, and whether you are operating in or outside your normal territory of assignment.
For ISAO, “family” legally means that the soldier’s tax household contains at least two people.
| Rank category | On territory of assignment | Outside territory of assignment | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single | Family | Single | Family | |
| Legionnaire & Caporal | €39/day | €48/day | €49/day | €58/day |
| Caporal-chef | €47/day | €57/day | €57/day | €67/day |
| Sergent & Sergent-chef | €49/day | €59/day | €59/day | €69/day |
| Adjudant, Adjudant-chef & Major | €56/day | €68/day | €66/day | €78/day |
In my experience, these payments often arrived two or three months later.
ISAO is not added on top of OPEX pay.
OPEX — When a Deployment Changes Your Pay
Official Information
OPEX can make a much bigger difference to your pay than a normal exercise or a few nights in the field. When you are deployed abroad under the OPEX pay system, you continue to receive your normal military pay and an additional bonus called the indemnité de sujétions pour service à l’étranger (ISSE).
For a soldier on monthly pay, the OPEX bonus is based mainly on the soldier’s basic salary. An OPEX can therefore increase your monthly pay considerably, although the exact amount still depends on your rank, years of service and family situation.
Using the same career examples as above, OPEX pay looks roughly like this:
| Career stage | Example profile | Approx. monthly pay during OPEX* |
|---|---|---|
| Beginning of career | Legionnaire, single, no children | ~€4,130 |
| Around 3 years | Caporal, single, no children | ~€4,160 |
| Around 7 years | Caporal-chef, married | ~€4,650 |
| Around 6 years | Sergent, single, no children | ~€4,420 |
| Around 10 years | Sergent-chef, married, 1 child | ~€5,140 |
| Around 15 years | Adjudant, married, 2 children | ~€6,400 |
| Around 20 years | Adjudant-chef, married, 2 children | ~€6,550 |
| Around 25 years | Major, married, 2 children | ~€7,300 |
* Paratrooper, mountain, diver and other specialty bonuses can be added to these amounts. These are practical examples, rounded for clarity. The exact final amount depends on the soldier’s real situation and the bonuses that still apply during the deployment. The OPEX bonus is calculated for the period spent in the operational area, from the day of arrival to the day of departure, both included. ISAO is not added on top of OPEX pay for the same period.
Qualifications and Specialty Bonuses
Official Information
The figures above don’t include every possible bonus. Depending on your regiment, qualifications and actual job, additional monthly bonuses can be added to your pay.
These are some of the most relevant ones in the FFL:
| Qualification | Level | Official monthly bonus |
|---|---|---|
| Paratrooper | Legionnaire / Caporal / Caporal-chef | €545 |
| NCO, from Sergent to Major | €595 | |
| High mountain | Chef de cordée | €130 |
| Chef de détachement | €250 | |
| Expert | €350 | |
| Terrestrial combat | Exécution | €105 |
| Conduite | €140 | |
| Conception | €160 | |
| Army diver | Depending on employment and unit level | €200 or €280 |
These are official gross monthly amounts, so they should not simply be added directly to the estimated net salaries shown earlier.
Having a qualification also doesn’t automatically mean that you receive the corresponding bonus forever. The qualification, your current position and the unit in which you are serving all matter.
For example, high-mountain bonuses are strongly associated with 2e REG, but mountain-qualified positions also exist in other units, including 2e REP.
In the FFL, Army divers can be found in the 1er REG, 2e REG and 2e REP. The two engineer regiments have plongeurs de combat du génie (PCG), while the 2e REP has a groupe de plongeurs de l’Armée de Terre (GPAT) within its 3rd Company.
FFL divers are different from the plongeurs d’armes / nageurs de combat serving in dedicated special-operations units, where the qualification and pay system can reach much higher levels.
The terrestrial combat bonus is slightly different because it applies much more broadly during a normal Army career. In the career examples earlier in this article, this bonus is already included where applicable, so it should not be added a second time.
3e REI — The Special Case of French Guiana
The 3e REI in Kourou is a special case and should not be compared directly with the mainland regiments. French Guiana is a permanent overseas posting, not an OPEX.
Official Information
Legionnaires serving there benefit from a specific overseas pay system. One of its main advantages is a Guyana bonus equal to 25% of the basic military salary.
This doesn’t mean that you can simply take your normal net salary and add 25%. Your basic salary, career bonuses, family payments and other bonuses all follow their own calculation rules.
What can a normal month at 3e REI look like?
Using the same career examples as earlier in this article:
| Career stage | Example profile | Approx. monthly net* | ISAO during a qualifying night** |
|---|---|---|---|
| Beginning | Legionnaire, single | ~€2,020 | €39/day |
| ~3 years | Caporal, single | ~€2,130 | €39/day |
| ~7 years | Caporal-chef, married | ~€2,260 | €57/day |
| ~6 years | Sergent, single | ~€2,270 | €49/day |
| ~10 years | Sergent-chef, married, 1 child | ~€2,650 | €59/day |
| ~15 years | Adjudant, married, 2 children | ~€3,000 | €68/day |
| ~20 years | Adjudant-chef, married, 2 children | ~€3,340 | €68/day |
| ~25 years | Major, married, 2 children | ~€3,660 | €68/day |
* These are practical estimates before individual income tax. They include the 25% Guyana bonus, the normal military and garrison payments, family payments where applicable, the terrestrial-combat bonus and normal career-related payments. They do not include ISAO or special qualifications such as paratrooper, diver or other specialty bonuses.
** The ISAO figures use the normal rate for an activity carried out on the legionnaire’s territory of assignment. Some missions can receive a higher rate when the activity is formally conducted under operational control.
The installation bonus
3e REI also comes with a large installation bonus.
A legionnaire posted there from more than 1,000 km away can receive an installation bonus based on his pensionable basic pay.
For a normal two-year posting, a single legionnaire receives the equivalent of 12 months of basic pay.
If his family accompanies him, another 2.5 months are added for his spouse and one additional month for each dependent child.
Using our career examples:
| Example profile | Calculation for 2 years | Approx. installation bonus | Paid in 3 instalments | Extra bonus if staying a 3rd year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Legionnaire, single | 12 months | ~€21,620 | ~€7,210 each | ~€10,810 |
| Caporal, single | 12 months | ~€21,800 | ~€7,270 each | ~€10,900 |
| Caporal-chef, married | 14.5 months | ~€26,550 | ~€8,850 each | ~€13,120 |
| Sergent, single | 12 months | ~€22,150 | ~€7,380 each | ~€11,080 |
| Sergent-chef, married, 1 child | 15.5 months | ~€30,750 | ~€10,250 each | ~€15,210 |
| Adjudant, married, 2 children | 16.5 months | ~€36,470 | ~€12,160 each | ~€18,050 |
| Adjudant-chef, married, 2 children | 16.5 months | ~€39,720 | ~€13,240 each | ~€19,660 |
| Major, married, 2 children | 16.5 months | ~€41,830 | ~€13,940 each | ~€20,700 |
The original installation bonus is normally paid when you arrive, six months later and one year after arrival. If the posting is extended to a full third year, another bonus is added: six months of pensionable basic pay, plus five weeks for an accompanying spouse and 15 days for each dependent child. The amounts in the last column show the approximate additional payment for that third year, which is normally paid in one instalment when the legionnaire leaves French Guiana.
Family additions only apply when the spouse and children actually accompany the legionnaire to French Guiana.
Harpie and Titan
The 3e REI regularly takes part in Operation Harpie, fighting illegal gold mining, and Operation Titan, protecting the Guiana Space Centre.
When these missions prevent a legionnaire from returning to his normal place of residence for the whole period between 23:00 and 05:00, they can generate ISAO.
The table shows a normal month in Kourou. Nights spent on Harpie can add ISAO on top of this, while specialty bonuses can increase the amount further.
Is the Pay Enough?
The starting salary isn’t particularly high if you look only at the number. But during basic training and while you live in barracks, you don’t have the same expenses as someone renting an apartment and paying for food every month.
Experience
When I was serving, I was usually able to save more than 30% of my salary while still traveling, eating out and buying new gadgets. For me, that’s a better way to look at FFL pay: not only how much you earn, but how much you can actually keep at the end of the month.
Ask yourself how much you would need to earn at home to save €600 or €700 every month after paying rent, food, transport and bills.
Later in your career, rank, qualifications, OPEX, ISAO and overseas postings can increase your pay considerably. But these extras aren’t guaranteed every month, so I wouldn’t join the FFL only for the money.
Financially, however, it can be a good opportunity if you manage your salary properly.
i wanted to say two things. first how do u change regiments. like is there any achievement requirements and other stuff. like if ur a legionnaire and then want to join paratroppers or mountain regiment then how does that work.
and second please try to make the comment section or the this particular text box that works for input for comments on top of all the comments
Hey,
Changing regiment is possible, but there’s no specific achievement you need.
Usually you make a request through your hierarchy and it depends mainly on available places, your profile, physical/medical aptitude and the needs of the FFL.
For 2e REP, you don’t need to be a paratrooper before arriving. If you’re accepted there, you normally do the para course with the regiment. Same for 2e REG: you don’t need mountain qualifications before joining, you get them later depending on your job and company.
And for the comment section, it’s done now. The comment box is above the comments.
Aron
I wish to join the French Army. Could you please explain the complete set of rules and regulations? Specifically, if I intend to go to France, what is the nature of the IQ test, and what are the full requirements? I request this information from you, Teacher.
Bro, How much did you have saved after the first five years?
Thank you Aaron for what you have been presenting to us, I’m 25 years old from Tanzania, I have a plan to enlist in the legion this year but most of the posts I see about legion soldiers I see no black person. What’s are the chances of being selected as a black person from TZ. Thanks!
Do I get paid during training period?
Do I have to be in the army or any para-military in my home country for me to be qualified to join the French foreign legion? Please
hello, are you allowed to do youtube in free time? not speaking whats going on inside the legion, just total other things, like explain stuff, crafting, speaking about serial killer, speaking about animals, speaking about how to repair stuff etc etc. In free time i can rent a hotel room to have a quiet place to do it or if i wanna sleep all alone and no need the noise from the room where i sleep with another 30 guys. thhank you
I have an auto-immune disease that is caused by stress and poor food, called candida overgrowth.
it”s nothing in comparison to HIV, but I need to take some pills for a few months and my toenails look like nail fungus, but it’s not nail fungus but looks like athletes foot, but then again I am a 10+ years martial artist and could do 20 pull-ups etc. I am sure I will pass all exams, but this stupid candida overgrowth making me doubt myself.
I assume I won’t be selected cuz of the silly toe-nail look alike disease that i am treating?
I love Indian army iam soldiers in Indian army and aim ceecrfaice to6hinnesty Indian army I am 2nd battalion The Naga Regt in service my services 13 years ago I am joined to frence forgen army. Because some financial problem for my family back ground. So I love to frence forgen army. Thank you
Hi Aron,
Do you keep getting paid during your holidays?
Hello Aron, sorry I have a question… I am from Nigeria and I leave in France but I want to join the French legion but the problem is I only have my birth certificate so is it possible to join?
You’ll also need a passport to enter the country.
Thanks a lot for this info. Do we possibly know what are the salaries looking for sniper units?
Also, what is the French tax rate in 2023 for these salaries, if you have any info to spare.
Hey, the sniper qualification doesn’t give you any bonus in term of money.
Should I tell the embassy am joining the french foreign legion to make it easier for me to get a french visa aron
If I join this way, will I be placed inside France or outside France?
Do you ever have problems with ink on foot when wet?
You are a very capable individual!
one more question can a guy who had a LASIK eye surgery can join FFL or not?….. tnk u ARON…
Hey Aron I just want to know which regiment is best to join for new legionaries .. is it 2rei or 2reg or 3REI …….. according to their salary nd which regiment gets more arm combate training then other ( not talking about physical )……
Are you south african i reckonise your name
How money giving legioners in 1st mones?
Hey sir thanks alot for your information……my name is insaf shahi. I m from nepalese army serving as a EOD member (bomb disposal team ). So if i get the chance to serve in bomb disposal regiment of ffl then how much can i earn????
hello, what is the salary of 2rei and how much is rise during deplyment
and 2 reg payment
an ex legionaire told me that, he is sorry that he didn’t choice 2reg , because they make lot of missions
and please tell me how much money should i take with me if i go to legion
some sais i dont need much but i think i need to have some with me, to pay back the ticket of airplane, and food back home, and if i buy a ticket of airplane and fly same day, it might cost even 200 euros , so i was thinking to take with me 400 euros
hey,
there’s no big difference between 2rei and 2reg in term of payment, if it’s not the premium for the mountain qualifications. You can see how much legionnaires earn during deployment in the tables.
Don’t take too much money for joining, because you won’t pay your plane ticket by cash. Take your bank card and phone rather so you’ll be able to buy everything you’ll need on internet. You’ll get cash for each day you spent in the FFL once you signed your pre-contract.
Hey Aron do guys in the 2e REP make more than the guys in the 3e REI???
Hey,
No, 3REI is better in term of money. In 3REI you’ll earn around 400 euros more in average if you are in a combat company.
Hello, is the pay meant as a clean income (NET), or isit gross and will be taxed? Thx
Hey, it’s clean income
Hola a todos… Quiero hacer una pregunta, porque despues de los 5 años muchoas legionarios salen da la legion?Why do many Legionnaires leave after 5 years? .
Hey Aron
Do Legionnaires pay taxes?
If so then what’s the percentage and is it the same as other regular French military.
It’s hard to answer this question, because it depends on your individual financial situation. In my case I pais like 2000 euros as tax during the 8 years
Sorry to bother you Aron, but i have a question and i didn’t find any answers in internet.The salary expept 2rep that comes with the parachute bonus in the other regiments like 2REI the bonus from IAC how much is it a month ,and if it goes up to 2000 all together isn’t it enough to start a family in 30s?tThank from advance
Hey Greg,
Contrarily to Artois’ case, you could find the answer in my ebook to your question. The salary in 2rei or 2reg are almost the same, so my example could be useful for you.
Do note that at the beginning of your career in the FFL isn’t really compatible with family life, because you’ll pass the most of your time doing something (training, missions, field mission, service etc.)
Thank you !!
Hey I’m a little confused on the earnings.
So as a legionnaire straight out of training it’s the 1348€ pcm.
Then say for example I am deployed to Africa do I then earn the 3423€ pcm and if I am deployed 150 days or more I then get the bonus on top of the 3423€ ????
Also how long usually until you can become a corporal??
Thanks
Hey Aron, the link that you provided in one of your comments is not opening up. This one – https://www.patreon.com/posts/how-much-money-i-36504518
Hi Aron, it seems that the salary is a bit higher in 2021 than in 2020. In 2020 the “beginnig-salary” for a 2nd classe was 1.280 EUR, now it is 1.380 EUR (info at the official recruitment-site of the legion -https://www.legion-recrute.com/en/remuneration-benefits). Do you have the actual salaries for the other ranks? Thanks a lot for your interesting blog.
Yes and no actually. The pay is in ceasless changing since I joined and it’s true for 2021 as well, but it’s pretty hard to give you a 100% sure exact number. I coached some guys last year and those who actually went to France joined the Legion and on sent me a paycheck from January. He got 1369,33€
Hello Aron,
First of all, thank you for sharing your experiences and thank you for giving some great advices, I learned a lot. But I do have a question. After finishing the basic training, will I be able to rent an appartment to live? See, I decided to join the Legion next year and my wife will apply for Campus France so she can graduate in France. Her studies will take around 3 or 4 years to finish. I ask this because I want to know if there is a possibility to live with her even if we dont see each other a lot. Thank you in advance.
Hello , I am police officer from Greece with 11 consecutive years at service is that a bonus from my experience? And if I get in .. in how long I have a contract and to come back to Greece to inform my authorities for my permission .
The contract is for 5 year’s ,then you can apply for more years up to 19 years.You can come home every year for about 30-45 days.
as speaking for the money, i roughly counted when i get out, i made ~90k during 5 yr, but walked out with 15k. the funny thing is i had 20k on my saving at my 1yr half and since then the number never climbs but even drops.
well the hidden thing is, apart from a few people, the vast majority need extra expense to “stay normal” and the life of a legionnaire can be stressful and toxic in the beginning, and bored at its end. that cost money.
so for those who are reading this blog, don;t expect too much on the money level.
What regiment were you in?
Bro, what do you mean of (to stay normal)?
Can you please tell exactly What emptied your pocket?
Hello Aron….. I have few questions to ask….. 1st regarding physical exam, i have a denture does this affect my status to qualify? and if I have a hepa B, can this be a reason for automatic disqualification?2nd regarding salary, can a trainee get a salary for the 1st month of training? thanks and more power.
Hey, yes. I detailed this part in the ebook. You’ll start receiveng a basic salary from the day you signed your contract
Are there Sports tournaments such as mixed martial arts events and these kind of things?
Not really. You can participate in this kind of events only if you are practicing that sport at a very high level.
There are box clubs in the regiments, but I never had enough time to do any kind of sport via those clubs during the 8 years I passed in the FFL.
Hello Aron, I was wondering if prior combat/fitness training would help climb to better positions or get privileges in the FFL or if that is only based on time served and how is the base you’re located in and job you are given decided? is it based on your skill sets and interests or is that randomly decided?
hey, it can help you but it’s not neccesary
HEY ARON PLEASE REPLY ME
IN FIRST YEAR OF JOINING CAN I GO TO INDIA WHEN THERE ARE HOLIDAYS
AND SECOND IS THAT CAN I MARRY OR NOT
Hey Aron.
I have been thinking for some time now, to join the ffl. My question is more related to, how the standard salary is if you have a wife and kids, and they live in the country I’m coming from?
I have read that they can come and live in some apartments nearby the base is that true?
Hey, if your family stays in the country you’re coming from your salary won’t change too much. Your family status will be taken into account, but the real change is when you decide to rent an apartment near to the base. For me it was 180 euros per month, but if you have kids it can go higher.
Do note that it’s only possible after the first 5 years or if you become an NCO.
no es caro vivir en francia? es decir vivo en México y he leído que en Francia la renta fácilmente puede ir de 500 euros con mucha suerte ¿es necesario que rentes? ¿puedes vivir en el cuartel? había leído algo sobre acogida gratuita durante un tiempo…. que tan común es que te manden a una misión en el extranjero?
Hey Aron! I would like to know what happens to a legionnaire who gets seriously injured in combat. A legionaire has a life insurance, a retirement plan or something like that for theses situations?
Hey Aron, one question. I want to go in 1 month exactly.. Someone told me to go to marseille and join there and then everything goes on. Should I bring more money in case I need to return back? Should I get glasses since I have some small diopter or I don’t need them since I am not anyways wearing them?
Should I buy card in one way or return ticket in case. And for how long should I tell them on airport that I am planning to stay because I don’t have anyone and I am tourist. Can I just tell them I am going as a tourist or I can just go with that I am going to test myself for being legionnaire?everything is so confusing.
A tourist visa should be enough.
Hey,
It’s pretty hard to know if you get in or not in advance, so I don’t think it’s a good idea. Either way, if you can’t join, you’ll have time think about this problem. However, it’s good to have some savings for a return trip.
Hey aron thanks for the information firstly,second can i choose my speciality in 2reg are there many like machinegunner,driver,(nurse is an interesting speciality can i say that i want to get that training).Third, of i was in the military police does it help to be a mp also in the legion and does the mp choose where to go and has overseas?
I wanted to know if with the terrain premiums and everything else, all regiments pay the same in theory?
Yed
Even compared with the 2REP?
Guys in 2rep don’t have the field bonus, because it’s not compatible with the paratrooper bonus. They earn each month the same money.
In average you’ll earn more or less +200 euros a month in rep.
how many IQ questions are there and how many correct answers are found?
hello i am planning to join FFL in october, i am just waiting my flying ticket, i am interesting what happens when u are getting Residence permit, can u take your wife and kid with u in france, or not? some guys told me rhar when i will get Residence permit, i can rent home and with helping of lawyer i can take my family with me, only if i will live out of base…is that true?
normally which regiment legionnaires get most paid ?
Hello,
I’m very interested join FFL but I’m already married and have 2 kids. If I become legionaire can I send my pay to my wife and kids in home country? Because I’m moslem and have responsibility pay bills and their living cost.
Thank you very much, If you willing the answer.
So, what happens if i get killed? Will my savings be passed to my family? Will my body be sent back home? I know this isnt the nicest of toughts, but it is a combat position. Thank you for the article!
Hey,
Yes, your savings will be transferred to a member you designed in your assurance. Your family will decide where you’ll be buried in this case, but if you don’t have anyone in your life, the FFL arranges everything.
hey, Aron so basically what difference does it make if you are holding a degree? I have 0 ideas of how things work in the selection. thank you
It doesn’t actually change anything during selection. It won’t be a plus if that’s what you want to know. In some cases it could even be a disadvantage. If you come from the USA and you’re having a university degree in engineering, you need to be extremely convincing if you want to join. The FFL is basicly looking for young guys who’ll stay for a long period.
thank you Aron for your reply, so basically it doesn’t give an advantage, but if I got accepted is there a special place for the engineer or they do the same work like everybody else?
thank you
And also not to tell them if i have an angineer degree ?sorry i didnt finish my whole thought
Hello, if i have a degree in mechanical engineer how can i NOT end up in 2 engineer combat regiment in saint christol ,and how can i have more luck getting in 2 reg in Nimes ,it matters if i end up in the best 10 performances?thanks already for your answer
Nobody is going to care about your degree. You should finish between the firsts during the basic training and you just choose 2rei.
If i applied to join after getting my engineering degree will i get a better rank?
Thankfully nowadays legionaires have a bank account which saves most of their money being stolen by the more dodgy and unscrupulous legionaires. With free board and lodging a legionaire should be able to save a decent amount and be able to travel overseas on leave and still have plenty of savings left on his return. With the extra expenses incured as a sous officier is it really worth the hassle of attending and passing the promotion courses. More responsibility and some status but no real reward financially.
Thank you and it is good to have further clarity. The fact sous-officiers and commissioned officers can travel first class at a discount. The other information about time off is also useful.
For those seeking a potential career in the french law enforcement agencies after the legion the following may be useful and it includes all the allowances and percentages paid in addition to the net monthly income.It is the English language translation version.
https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=fr&u=https://www.police-nationale.net/salaires/&prev=search&pto=aue French Police
https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=fr&u=https://www.police-nationale.net/salaires-gendarmerie/&prev=search&pto=aue French Gendarmerie
https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=fr&u=https://infos.emploipublic.fr/article/devenir-douanier-les-principaux-metiers-des-douanes-eea-7520&prev=search&pto=aue French Customs
There are many of the worlds militaries that pay badly.The french earn less than the Germans and Danish,British and Irish armed forces but when deductions for tax and other things are taken into account, the net amount is very similar to the British and Irish.
Great approach. If you take everything into account, it’s not that bad at the end.
2020 complete pay and allowences for the UK Armed Forces from the lowest up to a one star general rank. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/armed-forces-pay-review-body-forty-ninth-report-2020
I have noticed that the Legion recruiters never ever give accurate and up to date information. The pay rates they quote are often 2 to 3 years out of date and the 45 days leave is never given until the 3rd year of service. 15 days eave is the usual during the first year of service and 30 days during the second year of service so in a 5 years contract a legionare would get 180 days total leave. I do not know if they get weekends off in Barracks are any other type of leave in addition to the annual leave. Pay in the garrison is bad and there is not much incentive for promotion when you see the pay of the sous officers compared to the rank and file. There may well be other additions to pay other than the extra pay when deployed on operations. They proberbly get a 75% discount of SNCF also and if the pay rates quoted are net of tax then it may not be to bad. I think though that Sous Officers may not get free food and may have mess bills to pay in addition.
Hey, I’d complete your comment with a few details.
1. You have 45 days of holiday from your second year and you can take them off if your yearly program allows you to do so. You can be a corporal with 4 years of service, but if you have too much field missions and trainings you can’t take your days off. There’s no rule for this part.
2. Same for the weekends. You can go out of the base even at a Wednesday night if you have nothing to do, like during the weekends.
3. The sous-officiers don’t pay for lunch, but the dinner isn’t free for them like for legionnaires.
4. You get a bonus during operation like I said in this article.
5. People in the French armed forces have a 75% discount of SNCF. Officers and NCOs can use it even on first class.
One more question about the IAC.
Is there are a mistake?
You wrote: IAC = (25 × 10) + (25 × 25) + (3 × 50) = 650 €
But the sum is 1.025 Euro, not 650 Euro ?!
Hey Aron
You are really helping people around.Can u please tell me the salary of paratrooper .
Thankyou
Great, thank you…
Hi Aron,
2 questions about the salary at the tables: Is it net salary, or gross salary? So taxes and e.g. insurance primes have to be paid from it?
The “field service prime” is per day, right? (net or gross)?
Thanks a lot…
Hey,
Everything is in net in the tables and yes the field service prime is paid per day generally 2-3 months after the field mission ended. So if you did 20 days in August, you’ll get a bonus of approximately 640 euros in October or November.
In May in each year, you have to declare your income and you’ll pay the taxes after your last year’s salary. It won’t be too much, I paid around 300-500 euros a year. It could be more if you go to French Guyana because people earn more money there. (+400 euros a month so around 1700 euros each month for a legionnaire, 6-8000 euros field service prime a year and 3×6000 euros of bonus for serving in South America. So you’ll be around 33000 euros a year which will bring you into a different tax category.
Hello Soldier,
I am going through 3 week intense training then applying for recruitment. I have one small question. Can I consume and carry my Protein Powder, MODAFINIL* and basic medicines through the camp? Please let know. I would be grateful
*Modafinil is a medicine used by NASA astronauts and many militaries during long missions to be awake, focus and concentrate more for ultimate performance.
Hey, not really. When you arrive in Aubagne, they’ll take all of your belongings and once you signed your contract, you’ll be able to take some basic stuff from your bag, like underwear, socks or a dictionary, but that’s all. I’d be surprised if you could actually could keep any drugs you bring into the recruitment center.
Hey Aron, how easy is it to send money home for your kids while in the legion especially in the beginning? Oh and if you’re stationed in French Guiana can you travel to other parts of South American during vacation?
Hey, it’s not more complicated than if you would want to send money from your country to France. If you’re having family while you join, you just need to ask your hierarchy to allow you to send money once a month.
And yes, you can travel from French Guyana wherever you want. Check out the destinations on Skyscanner
Hi, enjoy reading your articles keep it up wanna read some of stories while on deployment.
Is pay done in cash? Does the Legion have its own system of deposit salary? I would assume it would be hard to open a bank account seeing as legonaires aren’t French.
Thanks
Hey,
No, on the contrary. When you enlist, the FFL helps you to open a bank account so you can receive your first salary at the end of the first month. You’ll also get your bank card right after the farm.
Hello, thanks for the answers Aron.Which is the best regiment to live , i mean the location like calvi or nimes ,to spend your free time when you are not deployed?
Hey,
The best are probably Nîmes, Carpiagne. Laudan and Castel could be okay for some type of people. Calvi, La Cavalerie (13 dble) and St. Christol are the worst to live. However, since corporals over 3 years of service can buy a car, things are getting better.
How much extra money do a legionnaire get in the 3REI and is there a sniper unit.Thank you
Hey, I’ll look for the exact answer and will update the post, but a Legionnaire in 3REI earns around 500 euros more, than in France.
Are you sure it’s only $500 more in the 3REI? Some guys on youtube inform they get around $35k per year which equals to almost $3k per month. It that’s not the case then what’s the point of leaning towards leaving in a jungle for 3 years for almost the same money, what do you think?
Also, thanks a lot for such an informative inputs on the LE subject.
35k a year isn’t far from the reality. Guys in 3rei have 500 euros extra on their paycheck, but don’t forget that you can easily spend 200 to 250 days in the rainforest which counts as field mission a’d means extra money.
You also get 5k when you arrive and 5k when you leave.
p.s. sorry, I meant EUR, not dollar, when I was replying to above comment. Thus, please nevermind the $ sign.
Hey Aron,
Thank you for responding on that matter. I’m considering purchasing your book now in hope of getting more precise figures regarding the 3rei. Could you please inform whether it will include detailed info regarding the pay in 3rei or not? Also, one last question, is it true that one could be sent to the 3rei in summer only, meanwhile there is no chance in late autumn/winter?
You can join 3rei directly if you finish the basic training between May and September, so yes, you can’t go there in late autumn or in winter.
In the ebook I’m mostly talking about my salary and how my life was going while I was in the FFL, but since I’ve only done a short mission in Guyana, I can’t tell you how much you’ll exactly earn there, but the 35k isn’t unrealistic.
Can I spare all the money I get every month in the all 5 years ? Or do I need to spend some for food or something? And how many years I need to serve for getting citizenship for sure
I would like to join french army
Ive red on one of your article here that you already get paid few days after you get in. I am assuming that ofcourse legionnaires get paid during the 4 months basic training.Are they already starting to earn the base pay that you have indicated above, or how and how much are they getting paid during the basics?
Hey Cris,
I wrote an article about how much money I exactly made during my first 8 years of service. You’ll find this post on https://www.patreon.com/posts/how-much-money-i-36504518
By reading this article you could help me to keep going this blog and you’ll get an exact answer to your question.
Are all regiments do that ave. 150 days on field? if they don’t have opex for instance, or there were regiments that will literally sit within their reg. for the whole 365 days? Thank you
In a year when a “combat” unit doesn’t go on mission abroad, it will probably reach the 150 days out of the regiment. It’s especially true in 2REI and 2REG. My company will pass 3 months on the field and 4 months on Vigipirate (Operation Sentinelle) in France. You have to take into account, that I’m talking about combat units. If you are in logistic it can be around 30 – 60 days a year at max.
What is the salary in US dollars?
1348 euro is around 1450 dollars nowadays. You can count +35 dollars for each day on the field. In an average year we do around 150 days on the field (+5250usd/year) if you don’t go on mission. You need to take into account that you don’t pay for food during the week and the accommodation is provided.
For further information you can use this link to count your salary during a 4 months long opex for example :
https://lmgtfy.com/?q=euro+in+dollar
Do I need to pay for food in the barracks? Also, can I spend the weekends at the barracks? Is every weekend fully free or may I be summoned to the base? Am I free in friday’s night or saturday morning? Can I travel freely around Europe if I notify my superiors? Sorry for the multitude of questions.
Is french foreighn legion risky or not..can we serve 17 years honourablely🗿