The French Foreign Legion in Mayotte is represented by the 5e Régiment Étranger, or 5e RE. It is one of the least known regiments because the current unit is still very recent.
The previous 5e RE was dissolved in French Polynesia in 2000. On 1 June 2024, the Détachement de Légion étrangère de Mayotte, better known as the DLEM, became the 5e RE and received the traditions of the old Régiment du Tonkin.
If you are thinking about joining the French Foreign Legion, the main thing to understand is that the 5e RE does not work like the 2e REI, 1er REC or 2e REG. It has permanent personnel in Mayotte, but it also receives units for short deployments.
Where is the 5e RE?
The 5e RE is based in Dzaoudzi on Mayotte, a French island in the Indian Ocean between Madagascar and the African coast.
It belongs to the French Armed Forces in the Southern Indian Ocean zone, known as FAZSOI, and forms the Army component based in Mayotte for French sovereignty in the Mozambique Channel.
Its motto is Legio Ultra Maria, which means The Legion beyond the seas.
What does the 5e RE actually do?
Its main job is to support French sovereignty in Mayotte and the surrounding area. The 5e RE also keeps a permanent military detachment on the Glorieuses Islands, northwest of Madagascar.
It must be ready to react to a regional crisis, support French authorities in Mayotte and train with partner forces around the Indian Ocean.
A good example is Exercise Papangue in March 2026. Around sixty soldiers from the 5e RE left Mayotte aboard the French Navy ship Dixmude, trained on Grande Glorieuse and then joined French, Malagasy and Comorian troops on La Réunion.
A regiment built around rotations
The 5e RE is still growing. By 2026 it had an HQ, a command and logistics company, a support company and an infantry company serving on short missions.
These temporary deployments are called MCD, or mission de courte durée. The rotating company normally stays for several months and can come from FFL regiments or regular French Army units.
This means that serving at the 5e RE does not always mean being permanently posted to Mayotte. Many legionnaires can experience the regiment later when their company deploys there.
That is different from regiments such as the 2e REI or 2e REG, where a young legionnaire can be assigned after basic training and remain for several years.
Training in Mayotte
Mayotte gives the regiment a very specific training environment. Heat, humidity, tropical vegetation, coastline and a huge lagoon make it completely different from mainland France.
The 5e RE hosts the Centre d’instruction et d’aguerrissement nautique, or CIAN, which trains soldiers for tropical and lagoon operations. Training includes nautical movement, work around the coastline and exercises adapted to the local terrain.
The regiment also works regularly with French units and partner forces from countries in the region.
For me, this is what makes Mayotte interesting from a soldier’s point of view. It is a very different environment from Castelnaudary or Nîmes, and even from Guyana.
The Regiment of Tonkin
The current 5e RE is new, but its history goes back to the 5e Régiment Étranger d’Infanterie, or 5e REI, created in 1930 in French Indochina.
It became known as the Régiment du Tonkin and inherited the traditions of earlier French Foreign Legion units that had fought in the region.
The Japanese attack of 1945
In March 1945, Japanese forces attacked French positions throughout Indochina. Parts of the 5e REI escaped and began a long fighting retreat toward China.
The survivors covered hundreds of kilometres while dealing with combat, casualties, disease and very difficult terrain. The regiment was dissolved in July 1945.
Back to Indochina
The 5e REI was recreated in 1949 and returned to combat in Indochina against the Viet Minh. Its units operated from numerous posts in northern Vietnam until the end of the war.
After Indochina, the regiment moved to North Africa and took part in the Algerian War.
From infantry to the Pacific
In 1963, the regiment became the 5e Régiment Mixte du Pacifique, or 5e RMP, and moved into a very different role in French Polynesia.
Its soldiers worked on roads, airfields, ports and other military infrastructure in Tahiti, Hao, Mururoa and other islands. Much of this work was linked to the French nuclear testing programme in the Pacific.
In 1984, the 5e RMP became the 5e Régiment Étranger. It remained in the Pacific until 30 June 2000, when the regiment was dissolved.
The 5e RE returns to Mayotte
The French Foreign Legion maintained a permanent presence in Mayotte for decades through the DLEM. On 1 June 2024, the DLEM became the new 5e Régiment Étranger and inherited the traditions of the Régiment du Tonkin.
The name is old, but the mission is completely different. The 5e RE of today is built for Mayotte and the Indian Ocean.
Can you serve at the 5e RE?
Yes. There are permanent positions in Mayotte and there are also short deployments with rotating units.
What you should not do is join the French Foreign Legion expecting to choose the 5e RE straight after basic training. Like any regiment, assignments depend first on what the FFL needs and which positions are available.
You can give your preference. That does not mean you will get it.
My view
I think the 5e RE is interesting because it is not what most candidates imagine when they think about an FFL regiment.
Its history goes from Tonkin to Algeria and the Pacific, while the current regiment has a completely different job in the Indian Ocean.
If you get the chance to serve in Mayotte, it will be very different from life in a regiment in mainland France. That is probably the main reason I would find the 5e RE interesting as a posting.
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