What is the French Foreign Legion?

Reviewed September 2026

The French Foreign Legion is a military service branch of the French Army, created in 1831 by Louis Philippe.

Commanded by French officers, it’s also open to French citizens. The French Foreign Legion is a unit whose training focuses not only on traditional military skills but also on its strong esprit de corps. As its men come from different countries with different cultures, this is a way to strengthen them enough to work as a team.

The training is often described as not only physically challenging, but also psychologically stressful.

Since 1831, the Legion has suffered the loss of nearly 40,000 men on active service In France, Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, Madagascar, West Africa, Mexico, Italy, the Crimea, Spain, Indo-China, Norway, Loyada, Syria, Chad, Zaïre, Lebanon, Central Africa, Gabon, Kuwait, Rwanda, Djibouti, Ex-Yugoslavia, Somalia, Republic of Congo, Ivory Coast, Afghanistan, Mali, Sahel and others.

History of the French Foreign Legion

Louis Philippe, the King of the French, created the French Foreign Legion on 10 March 1831. Firstly, recruits included soldiers from the recently disbanded Swiss and German foreign regiments of the Bourbon monarchy. The French expeditionary force that had occupied Algiers in 1830 was in need of reinforcements, therefore the Legion was transferred by sea in detachments from Toulon to Algeria.

The Foreign Legion was primarily used as part of the Armée d’Afrique to protect and expand the French colonial empire during the 19th century.

The FFL also fought in almost all French wars including

• the Franco-Prussian War
• World War I
• and World War II

The French Foreign Legion has remained an important part of the French Army. Surviving three Republics, the Second French Empire and even two World Wars. The rise and fall of mass conscript armies, the dismantling of the French colonial empire and the loss of the Foreign Legion’s base, Algeria.

Prior to the end of the Algerian War, the legion hadn’t been stationed in mainland France except in wartime. Until 1962, the Foreign Legion headquarters was located in Sidi Bel Abbès, Algeria.

Today, some units of the Legion are in Corsica or overseas possessions (mainly in French Guyana, guarding Guiana Space Centre), while the rest are in the south of mainland France. The current headquarters is in Aubagne, France.

What’s the difference between the French Army and the French Foreign Legion? 

The biggest difference between the French Army and the French Foreign Legion is that the Legion accepts people from each country. Not only from France but also from all around the world.

Nowadays, more than 140 nationalities are living and working together.

Each legionnaire signs a contract “à titre étranger” (on a foreign basis), so Legionnaires can only change regiment within the French Foreign Legion.

For example, you are working as a combat medic. So if you want to change regiment, you can’t go to a French unit like the 1^st Infantry Regiment. This small detail could become very important later.

Current operations of the French Foreign Legion

Official Information

The French Foreign Legion is still regularly deployed in France, overseas and on NATO’s eastern flank. Some missions are permanent, while others depend on the regiment and the rotation.

• French Guiana – Operation HARPIE: the 3e REI is permanently engaged against illegal gold mining.
• French Guiana – Operation TITAN: the 3e REI permanently contributes to the protection of the Guiana Space Centre.
• France – Operation SENTINELLE: Legion regiments based in mainland France regularly rotate through domestic protection missions.
• Mayotte and the Mozambique Channel: the 5e RE carries out a permanent sovereignty mission from Mayotte, including a continuous detachment on the Glorieuses Islands.
• Poland – EUMAM Ukraine: France continues to train Ukrainian soldiers in Poland and in France. Legion units can take part depending on the rotation; a company of the 2e REI was deployed in Poland from October 2025 to February 2026.
• Romania – Operation AIGLE: France leads a NATO battlegroup in Romania. Legion units can also be sent there depending on the rotation.
• Estonia – Operation LYNX: France keeps troops in Estonia within NATO’s forward presence. Legion units have regularly taken part, including the 2e REP and the 1er REC.

Legion units also rotate through NATO missions, short deployments and training missions abroad. The regiment changes with each mandate, so the units you see in Poland, Romania or Estonia are not always the same.

Past operations and recent Legion deployments

Sahel – Operations SERVAL and BARKHANE

At the request of the Malian President, France intervened militarily in January 2013. Above all, Operation Serval had to stop the advance of jihadist forces and allow the country to regain its territorial integrity.

After the elections in 2013 Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta gathered most of the votes and became President of the Republic. In 2015, the non-terrorist rebel groups and the government signed an Agreement for Peace and Reconciliation in Mali. France supports Mali in the implementation of this agreement.

Operation Barkhane replaced operation Serval on 1 August 2014 to provide support of the French forces to Mali but also to the other G5 Sahel states (Burkina Faso, Mauritania, Niger and Chad) in their fight against terrorism.

Operation Barkhane was the main French counter-terrorism operation in the Sahel from 2014 until France ended the operation in 2022. Foreign Legion regiments were repeatedly deployed during Serval and Barkhane, but Barkhane is no longer a current French operation.

Its goal was to help Sahelian forces fight jihadist groups across the region. For the Legion, Serval and Barkhane were major deployments of the last decade.

Lebanon – Operation DAMAN

France is still deployed in Lebanon with Operation Daman as part of UNIFIL. Legion regiments have taken part in this mission many times, but the French units change with each mandate.

A Legion unit can be sent to Lebanon again when it comes up in the rotation.

Poland – EUMAM Ukraine

France is still taking part in EUMAM Ukraine by training Ukrainian soldiers in Poland and in France. From October 2025 to February 2026, a company of the 2e REI was deployed in Poland for this mission. The Legionnaires trained Ukrainian soldiers and came back with lessons the regiment now uses to prepare for high-intensity combat.

France – Operation RÉSILIENCE

Operation Résilience was launched in 2020 during the COVID-19 crisis. Legion units took part in transport, logistics and medical support. The operation has since ended.

Current operations in detail

French Guyana – Operation HARPIE and TITAN

Harpie

Operation Harpie has been active since 2008. In 2026, the 3e REI remains permanently engaged in this mission alongside the Forces armées en Guyane, fighting illegal gold mining and the networks that support it.

Experience

Above all, operation Harpie aims to stop illegal gold mining and thereby reduce its economic, social and environmental impact. The operations take place in extreme conditions, because the geography and the climate make missions and logistics difficult. As distances are huge, it’s not easy to ensure a permanent military presence in the rainforest covering 90% of the country. During the rainy season, 90 to 95% humidity combined with an average temperature of 30°C makes the task particularly difficult. Moving through the jungle is challenging. If you didn’t forget anything, you’ll have around 30 kg in your backpack.

Operation Harpie is dangerous. Illegal gold miners can be extremely violent, due to the financial stakes involved. Some mine shafts produce 3 to 4 kg of gold a month, which is worth around 100,000 euros. In the last ten years, five soldiers have been killed while deployed on Operation Harpie.

In 2017, seventy-two soldiers had to be evacuated for health reasons during operations in Guiana (malaria, fever, injury, bites, etc.).

Titan

Operation Titan protects the Guiana Space Centre at Kourou. The 3e REI patrols around the launch site and in the surrounding forest. During a launch, the security is reinforced on the ground, in the air and at sea.

France – Operation SENTINELLE

Operation Sentinelle is one of the regular missions for Legion regiments based in mainland France. Companies rotate through the mission with other Army units to protect sensitive sites and support the security forces when needed.

French Foreign Legion recruitment in 2026

The 2026 recruitment target is about 1,100 new legionnaires. Around 8,000 candidates present themselves each year, so only a part of them will finally be selected. Recruitment continues all year, but meeting the minimum requirements does not mean that you will be accepted.

At the start of 2026, the Legion reported 9,147 serving soldiers from 149 countries. The largest groups of 2025 recruits came from Latin America, the Indian subcontinent and Europe. Your nationality alone will not decide the result. Your physical and medical condition, motivation, background, test results and the Legion’s needs all matter during selection. For the full figures and the reasons behind the lower target, read French Foreign Legion recruitment in 2026. If you are preparing to join, use the joining guide.

The selection process

Volunteers have to pass the selections in a recruitment center, which takes around 3-4 weeks. Once they went through the sport tests, IQ tests, medical tests and interviews, they sign a contract for 5 years. Afterward the recruited volunteers go to Castelnaudary for the four-month basic training, during which they’ll obtain the famous “white cap”, the Képi blanc. The Green Beret remains the Legion’s “battle uniform” headgear. Following the basic training, Legionnaires join one of the 11 regiments of the French Foreign Legion. Regiment assignments depend on training results, medical fitness, available places and the Legion’s needs at the time you finish basic training.

The regiments

Name	Year of creation	Location	Specialty
1°RE – 1st Foreign Regiment	1841	Aubagne	HQ, selection, administration
1°REC – 1st Foreign Cavalry Regiment	1921	Carpiagne	Cavalry, armoured troops
1°REG – 1st Foreign Engineer Regiment	1984	Laudun	Military engineering
2°REG – 2nd Foreign Engineer Regiment	1999	St. Christol	Mountain troops – Military Engineering
2°REI – 2nd Foreign Infantry Regiment	1841	Nîmes	Infantry
2°REP – 2nd Foreign Parachute Regiment	1948	Calvi	Infantry, Paratroopers
4°RE – 4th Foreign Regiment	1920	Castelnaudary	Basic training, other trainings
13°DBLE – Demi-Brigade of the French Foreign Legion	1940	Cavalerie, Camp de Larzac	Infantry
G.R.L.E – Foreign Legion Recruiting Group	2007	Paris (Fort de Nogent)	Recruitment
3°REI – 3rd Foreign Infantry Regiment	1915	Kourou – French Guyana	Infantry
5e RE – 5th Foreign Regiment	2024 (recreated from DLEM)	Dzaoudzi – Mayotte	Infantry, sovereignty and regional response