French foreign legion

The French Foreign Legion (F. Légion Étrangère) is a military unit of the French armed forces. While its officers are French, the rest of the Legion is made up of men from a wide variety of nationalities. After serving in the Legion for a specified number of years, the legionnaire is given French citizenship and a new identity, including name, date and place of birth, etc.

In the past, the legion had a reputation for attracting criminals on the run. In recent years, however, admission has been restricted much more severely and background checks are done on all applicants.

French legislation prohibits the Legion from French mainland soil, and it is therefore based on Corsica.

Current Deployments

These deployments are current as of December 2002

• 2500 to Côte d'Ivoire

Notable Members of the Légion Étrangère

• Lalande[?]
• Koenig, General Pierre[?]
• Messmer, Pierre
• Travers, Adjutant Chef Susan

• Légion Étrangère official site (http://www.br-legion.com/)
• Unofficial information site (http://www.frenchforeignlegion.org/)
• French Embassy to US, Foreign Legion section (http://www.info-france-usa.org/atoz/legion/index.asp)