French Foreign Legion of Djibouti. Organizations of former legionnaires

The French Foreign Legion was founded on March 9, 1831, King Louis-Philippe d'Orléans issued a decree on the formation of troops, prohibiting their use on French territory. The king wanted to remove from the country the mass of mercenaries of Charles X of Bourbon, the remnants of the foreign regiments of Napoleon I, and emigrants who took part in the uprisings in Poland and Italy. These people had real combat experience and within the country posed a serious danger to the existing political balance.

At the same time, the expansion of France in North Africa, begun by Napoleon, is unfolding with renewed vigor. Thus, the king killed two birds with one stone, directing the combat potential of professional soldiers to expand the sphere of influence of France. A century later, world geopolitics has changed. The colonies achieved independence; there was no longer any need to expand French influence. It seemed

The Legion has outlived its usefulness. However, no. Every year the French parliament puts to a vote the question: does the country need an army of mercenaries? And every year the answer is yes. Currently, the Legion consists of seven regiments (including the famous 2nd Parachute, which includes the special forces of the SVAR Legion, staffed only by volunteer officers and corporals), one demi-brigade and one special detachment.

foreign legion headquarters

Locations:

Mayotte Island (Camores),

Djibouti (Northeast Africa),

Mururua Atoll (Pacific Ocean),

Kourou (French Guiana), Corsica and in France itself.

Candidate

A citizen of any country can join the Legion. The main thing is that the applicant is between 17 and 40 years old, has an ID card with him and is physically fit, of course. First you need to go through a preliminary selection at one of the reference and recruitment points.

Next is selection in the city of Aubagne (southern France), where the “conscript” is examined by doctors, subjected to psychotechnical tests, and here he must show all his physical capabilities. Approximate requirements for a volunteer: 30 push-ups, 50 squats, climb a six-meter rope without using your legs, run 2800 meters in 12 minutes.

If the candidacy is approved, then the first contract is signed for a period of at least five years. Even if a man is married, he is accepted into the legion as a single man. Another point in the contract: if desired, the candidate can hide his real last name. Previously, this provision was intended to provide a second chance for those who wanted to turn the page or who wanted to escape.

The Legion still retains this clause, often leaving only the first letter of the previous surname.

Service

For the first four months, volunteers undergo a young fighter course. Next is assignment to a specific branch of the military with the rank of “private.” You can count on the position of warrant officer by the end of the first contract.

Before the first five-year contract, you can resign or extend your service for six months, three years or five years. And so on until 15 years have passed since the visit to the legion. After three years of service, a legionnaire can apply for French citizenship.

According to the terms of the contract, two out of five years will have to serve in overseas territories. There is no fixed salary here - the amount consists of basic tariffs and allowances for climatic conditions, the degree of severity of the conflict, the category of the unit in which you serve (sabotage detachment, front line or rear during trench warfare).

We can only add that there is a special allowance for service outside France.

So, you have decided to join the French Foreign Legion

Many men dream of joining the French Foreign Legion in order to break with the whole world, to return to their homeland as a gallant officer, or even not to return at all. Think about it first... Is it worth it? As soon as you give yourself into the hands of the Legion, you will lose contact with the outside world for five years, the Legion will become your Motherland, your family and home. No wonder the legion’s motto is: “The Legion is our Fatherland.” And, quite naturally, you are not welcome there with open arms. I believe you have thought about it and decided everything for yourself. And if you still decide to try yourself in the military field, then read these essentially simple recommendations. If ignorance of the language stops you, you will be taught French, and you will have plenty of practice. Mercenary activity in most countries is punishable by law, so selection points are only in France itself. No one will help you get there - it’s all a scam, even embassies won’t help. Go to Paris, definitely on Sunday or Tuesday.

From Paris on Mondays and Wednesdays there is a departure to Aubagne, you may be late. Here's the address: Paris 94120, Fontenay-sous-Bois – Fort de Nogent.

And phone: 01 49 74 50 65 .

There are several options to get to the recruitment point: on a tourist package or illegally. I don’t recommend doing it illegally - problems may arise upon returning to your homeland, and even at the time of recruitment. If you get to the recruiting point, you will see a military unit. There is always a legionnaire at the entrance - go up to him and be silent. Be diligently silent, otherwise he won’t let you in. Then he will ask you about your nationality (you answer “Rus”) and demand your passport. After that, you will be taken inside, and then, after some time, you will be searched and given a medical examination. This is the primary selection. For a while you will get up at 5.00 in the morning, make your bed, clean, help in the kitchen, carry something... For disobedience - push-ups or a slap. Before being sent to Aubagne, you will undergo another medical examination - a more complete one. You will then be transferred by train to Marseille. From there it’s on to Aubagne. In Aubagne you will be searched even more thoroughly, and then given clothes, toiletries - everything you need. Then they will move in. You will be working again, but it will be even better for you - it will not be as boring. Most importantly, you will take additional tests. This is why you came to Aubagne.

Presumably, if nothing has changed, you will undergo three types of tests: psychotechnical, medical, physical. Psychotechnical: tests for attentiveness, memory. It all depends on your quickness. Medical: medical examination and questions about injuries and illnesses. I recommend getting your teeth treated. Physical: 2.8 km cross-country in 12 minutes, it is advisable to run more. I also recommend doing more push-ups; for any offense you will have to do push-ups. You will also undergo an interview where you must tell your entire biography. The main thing is to answer truthfully, quickly, and clearly. The interview will take place in three stages. Each next one repeats the previous one, this is a test for lice. Then everyone will be lined up and the names of those who have passed the selection will be shouted out. There are about twenty of them, as a rule. If you are not in this top twenty, you are paid money (25 euros for each day that you lost). Not enough for a ticket home, but at least it’s something. Maybe the next attempt will be more successful. Otherwise, they will start chasing you. Cross country, swimming... Then you take the oath and go to boot camp.

Sequence of selection and training for the French Foreign Legion

Camp near Obanya

Everyone is sent to camp after dinner. Everyone is given back the clothes they arrived in and taken to the station, accompanied by several legionnaires. There everyone gets on the train and goes to the south of France to Marseille. The train arrives there the next day at approximately 6-7 am. Immediately at the Marseille station, everyone transfers to the train, which arrives in Aubagne. In Oban, buses are already waiting to pick up all arriving candidates and take them to the Legion’s central base.

The first foreign regiment, stationed at the base near Aubagne, is engaged in the recruitment and initial training of all recruits.

Upon arrival at the base, everyone is taken to the volunteer building, where another search of personal belongings takes place. It should be noted that it is much more thorough than the very first one, conducted at the recruiting point. As a rule, the only personal items allowed are toiletries, a towel, flip-flops, a phrase book or a dictionary. After this, the volunteer is given the most necessary things. These are two pairs of panties, short sports shorts and a T-shirt (they will replace a tracksuit); if you don’t have sneakers with you, then you will be given tennis shoes. They will also give you a pack of disposable razors, shaving foam, a toothbrush and toothpaste, two bars of soap - one for showering, the other for washing clothes, toilet paper and two sheets.

After the items are given out, the volunteer is taken to a room where they will be shown a bed. Very often, recruits of completely different nationalities live in the same room, then from time to time they can be shuffled.

The daily routine at boot camp is very similar to that at the recruiting station. The main difference is that getting up occurs much earlier - at 5:00-5:30, and breakfast, respectively, at 5:30-6:00. The shutdown can also sometimes be delayed, but this rarely happens. There is practically no free time - you have to work a lot, but it’s still better than just sitting around doing nothing. Here, work is the best way to experience the life of the legion and meet other legionnaires. Very often they take people to work outside the training camp, for example, to the home of veterans of the legion - this is a 40-minute trip by minibus one way. Sometimes there are trips to the officers' holiday home in Marseille - it's a 20-minute trip along the Mediterranean coast. But still, most of the work takes place on the territory of the unit.

Recruits usually spend all that little free time in the sports town, using logs instead of benches. Usually, all recruits here are divided by nationality, but in principle, if you wish, you can go talk to Poles, Slovaks or volunteers of any other nationalities without any problems - it’s all just a matter of knowing foreign languages.

It should be noted that serious conflicts never arise, and in which case it is not worth escalating, since everyone involved is immediately expelled without clarifying the reasons.

And another interesting feature - for the time spent in the training camp in Aubagne, recruits are entitled to something like a salary. Everyone receives 25 euros for each day plus 40 euros for each day off.

Psychological test for joining the French Foreign Legion

Well, of course, each recruit undergoes various tests. Actually, that’s why everyone was brought to the camp.

The first test is psychological. It is usually conducted by a corporal. Explanations about the test are usually in French, sometimes in English, but quite possibly in Russian. It all depends on the nationality of the legionnaire who will conduct this test. It consists of many small tests that last one after another for 1.5 - 2 hours. In this case, a fixed amount of time is allocated for each subtest.

All volunteers are given tests in their native language. If the test was issued in another language, then you must immediately, without fussing, raise your hand and say something like “corporal, not Russian or Russian,” that is, explain that the test was not issued in Russian.

A psychological test usually includes the following tasks:

1. In one of the tasks it will be necessary draw a tree. Moreover, according to the test conditions, it will be necessary to draw only deciduous trees, excluding any coniferous trees (spruce, pine, etc.) and palm trees. After this, you will need to choose from the 20 proposed images of trees the two that the volunteer likes the most. It is best to draw and then select simple trees without a highly developed root system, a large number of branches, and so on.

2. Another possible test is this is a gear test. The gist of it is this. Drawings of gears will be given, and from them it will be necessary to determine in which direction gear D will rotate if, for example, gear A rotates to the left. There will be several such drawings, and with each new one the complexity will increase. Gradually, belt drives, a pin, and so on will be added to the three gears in the pictures. As a rule, answer options will be given next to the pictures, and you will need to think carefully and choose the correct one.

When solving this problem, it is necessary to remember everything that was taught in physics lessons, or rather mechanics. There is no need to be afraid that with each new test task the difficulty will increase. On the contrary, each time it will be increasingly easier to navigate the solution to the proposed problem.

3. Next test - a drawing will be given, and in addition to it 4-5 very similar pictures. You need to choose one of them that is the same as the one originally proposed. When solving this problem, the most important thing is to concentrate your vision well on the proposed drawings.

4. Will be offered a drawing showing cubes arranged in several rows. In this case, the rows can be of different thicknesses and heights. You will need to quickly determine how many cubes are shown in the picture and choose the correct answer from the ones offered. When solving this problem, you will first need to concentrate your attention.

5. Figures depicted, and they are located in the order 3x3. One of the figures is missing from the picture. It is necessary to select the missing figure from the proposed options. Here again attention plays a decisive role.

6. The volunteer is given a list of questions. You will need to carefully read each question and answer it “yes” or “no”, or for example + or -. The questions there are of a completely different nature. For example - Do you feel good in a team? Do you like loneliness? Have you ever had a stomach ache? Have you ever lied in your life? Have you ever stolen?

When answering questions, you must read them carefully and answer them just as carefully. Sometimes there are two opposing questions, and if a positive answer was given to the question of whether you feel good in a team, then a positive answer about loneliness will be clearly inappropriate. The most interesting thing is that no one reads the answers in the future, and they are checked by applying a grid. It is unknown what the construction of the grid depends on.

7. Memory test. The subject will be given a map of a residential area, on which various houses and buildings will be marked. Everything shown on the map will be accompanied by comments like “school”, “gas station”, “shoe store” and so on. Street names will also be signed. The volunteer must memorize this card within five minutes, after which he will be given exactly the same, but absolutely blank card. There you will need to mark objects from the previous map. True, there is one relaxation - if there were about 25-30 marked buildings on the original map, only 10-12 need to be marked on the clean one. In order to perform well on this test, you only need to remember the buildings themselves, with their names and location relative to others. If you have difficulty remembering the entire map, then you need to focus your efforts on remembering, for example, only the top of the map, or only one corner of the map, or only gas stations and stores, and so on.

8. Attentiveness test. The volunteer is shown a set of randomly repeating symbols, 7-8 in total. These symbols are arranged in rows on 5-6 sheets. A sequence of two characters will also be given as a sample. It is necessary to sequentially cross out these two symbols on the sheets of paper over a certain period of time. In general, successful passing of the test depends only on the attentiveness of the test taker.

Medical test

The medical test is carried out in another building. As a rule, a group of volunteers of 10-12 people is called to complete it. Arriving at the building, everyone called strips down to their underpants and sits on a bench to wait their turn. Here you need to be very careful, because everyone is called for a medical examination by last name, and you must not only not miss yours, but also answer when you were called.

The medical examination itself consists of three stages. First the volunteer goes through two corporals. Here the volunteer will have a urine test, check his vision, the condition of his teeth, write down where the scars are on the body and in what circumstances they were received. The volunteer is then asked various questions, including:

• Have you ever had jaundice (measles, mumps and other diseases)?
• Have you undergone any operations?
• Were there any fractures or serious injuries?
• Did you play sports, what kind and how much?
• Why do you want to join the Legion?
• Briefly tell your biography.

After all this, the volunteer moves to the next room - this is the second stage of the medical examination. In the room, the adjutant will ask various questions. Among these questions there will definitely be those that have already been asked before - you need not to be nervous, not to be rude, but to answer it again. Communication with the adjutant occurs through a legionnaire, who translates into and from Russian.

Then the third stage - in another office there is a captain, who once again examines the teeth, ears, listens to the lungs and examines the body. Then he asks questions again, and as a result, the volunteer is either denied entry into the legion or allowed to undergo a physical test.

Physical test

After successfully passing the medical test, volunteers are sent to a physical test. It consists only of cross-country, which usually takes place in the morning. The cross-country race takes place in a standard stadium with a circle length of 400 meters, the tracks of which are rubber-surfaced. If it’s winter, then the cross-country is rented directly to the parts around the hangars. Before the run, all volunteers are given T-shirts and numbers depending on how many people take the test.

Everyone runs to the stadium instead of walking. Distance - approximately 1-1.2 kilometers. Having arrived at the stadium, the whole group must line up at the start and then run laps against the clock. According to the test conditions, you need to run at least 2.8 kilometers in 12 minutes. But at the same time, having run the required distance, you cannot stop - you need to continue running further until the allotted time runs out.

The command to run is given using a whistle; the second whistle stops the test. Each circle is marked by a legionnaire in the general list. After finishing the test, everyone runs back to the unit, where they hand over their T-shirts and go to the shower.

In addition to being able to run well, you also need to be good at push-ups. The fact is that for any offense the command “pump” can follow, and the most important thing for a volunteer is not to be among the first to get tired.

Gestapo

No, no one is going to torture volunteers with a hot iron. This is the figurative name for going through the interview process with legion security officers. This interview aims to create a database about the future legionnaire. The questions that will be asked during the interview can be completely different and on different topics. You should answer as truthfully as possible; if it doesn’t work out, then you don’t need to create a too beautiful legend for yourself. There will be people sitting in front of the volunteer whose job is to see through the interlocutor, and their decision largely determines whether the volunteer will go further or not.

The interview process takes place in three stages. At the first, a sergeant speaking Russian will communicate with the volunteer. This may be a native of the former Soviet Union, a Pole, a Bulgarian or another Slavic nationality. Mostly questions are asked about life before arriving at the recruiting station. It turns out the biography, the reasons why he came to serve in the legion, whether there were any problems in his country and other similar questions that will complement each other and ultimately show the full picture.

The most important thing here is to say exactly what was previously told at the medical examination and recruitment point. The second stage is also a sergeant, and the same questions are asked only in a different sequence. The purpose of this stage is to find out how truthful the volunteer was before. The third stage - an officer no less than a lieutenant, basically the same questions, but this time communication takes place through an interpreter.

We don’t think it’s worth reminding that a volunteer will be able to get an interview with the Gestapo only if all previous tests have been passed successfully. It is also worth keeping in mind that all three interviews can be conducted on one day, or they can be divided into several. So the only thing that can help in this case is to answer all questions clearly, quickly and, most importantly, truthfully.

Rouge

Rouge - comes from the French word "rouge", which translates as red. Previously, all those volunteers who passed all the checks and were waiting to be sent to boot camp wore a red bandage on their sleeve. Currently, this custom is no longer in effect, but the name itself has been preserved. Only those volunteers who successfully passed the Gestapo, that is, who for one reason or another were not eliminated by security officers, get into the Rouge.

Legionnaire candidates are selected on Fridays during morning formation. First, groups are called to take tests and do some chores, then the names of candidates for the rouge are called, and everyone who has not been named is sent to the logs. Those who were called by the officers leave the general formation and line up in the place where the gun is stationed. As a rule, 18 people are named, rarely when this number exceeds one or two people. When the last name is called, the command “civil” is heard for the remaining ones. Those who were not named go and hand over the things given to them, receive theirs, plus cash payment for the time they were in the legion. Payment is calculated based on the number of days. After that, everyone goes on the train and goes home - this time the legion is over for them. But no one bothers you to try again after a while.

All those who are enrolled in the legion first of all go to the hairdresser. There they shave all their heads. After this, you must hand in your sports uniform, and in return you will be given a new military uniform, except for a beret with a badge, and boots. They give the uniform that the entire legion wears. Then they give you a new tracksuit, but with the emblems of the legion. They also give you new toiletries and move you to a separate room. The accepted legionnaire will spend further time with his comrades in arms, except for free time. There, no one forbids you to go and communicate with your people from Russia.

The daily routine is also structured differently. Now they wake up the Rouge first, and then the rest of the camp. Rouge is also on night duty at the entrance to the volunteer territory and at the entrance to the building. The shifts are only 2 hours long, but naturally you have to sleep less. Now there will be practically no work on the territory, but now there will be constant cross-country races (5-7 kilometers each), swimming (about an hour in the pool at any desired time), and acquaintance with the life of the legion is also provided - they show films, take them to a museum, and so on. It will be necessary to spend a week in such an environment, until next Thursday. On Thursday, all former Ruzhovites are sworn in and given the traditional legionnaire's beret with a cockade.

Well, early on Friday morning, the newly minted legionnaires are sent to a training camp near the city of Castelnaudary in the Pyrenees mountains in the Toulouse region.

Salary in the French Foreign Legion

Salaries (salary)

Starting salary - 1043 euros per month with free housing and food. Further, the salary increases depending on length of service and place of service. For example, a corporal (3 years of service) who serves in France receives 1226 euros. And a corporal who serves in Djibouti costs 3,626 euros.

The largest military operations in which legionnaires took part

• Participation in the assault on Sevastopol (1853-1856)
• Cargo protection in Mexico (1863-1867)
• War for the French Protectorate in Indochina (1883-1885)
• Fight against the liberation movement in Madagascar (1895)
• Participation in the First and Second World Wars
• Indochina (1940-1954)
• Algeria (1953-1961)
• Counterinsurgency in Zaire (1978)
• Lebanon (1982-1983)
• Persian Gulf, capture of Iraq's Al Salman airport (1991)
• Peacekeeping actions in Magadisha, Bosnia (1992-1996)
• Kosovo (1999)
• Afghanistan
• Mali (Africa)

The French Foreign Legion is a unique elite military unit that is part of the French armed forces. Today it has more than 8 thousand legionnaires who represent 136 countries of the world, including France. What they all have in common is serving France at a high professional level.

The creation of the legion is associated with the name of King Louis Philippe I, who in 1831 signed a decree on the creation of a single military unit, which was to include several active regiments. The main purpose of the new formation was to carry out combat missions outside the French borders. To exercise command, officers were recruited from Napoleon's army, and soldiers accepted not only natives of Italy, Spain or Switzerland, but also French subjects who had certain problems with the law. Thus, the French government got rid of potentially dangerous people who not only had significant combat experience, but could also use it in conditions of political instability within the state.

This policy of the king was very logical. The fact is that the legionnaires were trained to conduct a large-scale campaign to colonize Algeria, which required a large number of troops. But at the same time, France could not send its subjects to Africa. That is why foreigners living in the vicinity of Paris were recruited into the legion.

Approximately during the same period of time, the tradition of not asking the real names of new soldiers arose. Many desperate people had the opportunity to start life anew, getting rid of their criminal past.

Today, the legion's rules also allow for anonymous recruitment of soldiers. As before, volunteers are not asked for their name or country of residence. After a few years of service, each legionnaire has the opportunity to obtain French citizenship and start a completely new life with a new name.

It should be noted that the first rule of foreign players is to never give up. The beginning of this tradition dates back to 1863, when three legionnaires held down more than 2 thousand well-armed soldiers of the Mexican army. But, taken prisoner, thanks to their courage and valor, they were soon released with honors.

As at the time of its founding, the French Legion is under the direct control of the head of state.

The modern Foreign Legion consists of tank, infantry and engineer units. Its structure includes 7 regiments, including the famous paratroopers with GCP special forces, one special detachment, one half-brigade and one training regiment.

Legion units are stationed in the Comoros Islands (Mayotte Island), in Northeast Africa (Djibouti), Corsica, French Guiana (Kourou), as well as directly in France.

The peculiarity of the French Legion is that women are not allowed into it. Contracts are provided exclusively to men aged 18-40 years. The initial contract is for 5 years. All subsequent contracts can be concluded for periods ranging from six months to 10 years. In the first five-year period, you can reach the rank of corporal, but only a person with French citizenship can become an officer. The main composition of the unit's officers are, as a rule, career military personnel who graduated from military educational institutions and chose the legion as their place of service.

Since mercenaryism is considered a criminal offense in many countries around the world, recruitment centers exist exclusively in France. For everyone who wants to join the legion, testing is carried out, which includes three stages: psychotechnical, physical and medical. In addition, each recruit is interviewed separately, during which he must clearly and truthfully tell his biography. The interview is conducted in three stages, and each new stage is a repetition of the previous one. Thus, a kind of check for lice is carried out.

Foreign volunteers can be easily identified by their white hats, although only privates wear them. The unit's colors are green and red.

Today, about 7 and a half thousand soldiers serve in the legion. The training of soldiers allows them to conduct operations in the jungle and in the dark. They are trained to carry out special operations to neutralize terrorists and rescue hostages. The main task of legionnaires today is to prevent military action. They are called upon to evacuate the population from the combat zone, provide humanitarian assistance, and restore infrastructure in regions of natural disasters.

Thus, there is information that the French Foreign Legion provided serious support in conducting ground operations during the events in Libya. In August 2011, the legionnaires managed to eliminate the fuel and food supply base, which was the main one for Gaddafi’s troops. According to some reports, several companies of the legion were transferred to Libya from Tunisia or Algeria. A little earlier, in the area of ​​​​Ez-Zawiya, the Foreign Legion, with minor losses, managed to break into the city center, providing free access to fighters from Benghazi. The command of the legion hoped to raise the Berber population to revolt, but this was not possible.

The participation of the French Legion in the Libyan war is strongly denied by the official French authorities, despite the fact that the press is actively discussing this issue. This position of Paris is quite understandable, since any invasion of the territory of Libya would contradict the UN resolution regarding this state, which only refers to the closure of airspace. A similar situation had already happened before, when in 1978 in Zaire the French government recognized that the Foreign Legion took part in a military conflict only after the legionnaires had completed the mission assigned to them.

The Arab Spring showed that foreign military personnel are present in many conflict zones. In addition to Libya, the French Legion also took part in military operations in Syria. Thus, 150 French legionnaires, mostly paratroopers and snipers, were arrested in Homs and 120 in Zadabani. And although no one can confirm that these were exactly legionnaires, such an assumption is quite logical, since this unit is staffed by citizens not only of France, but also of other countries. Thus, France again has the opportunity to claim that there are no French citizens present in Syria.

Another place where the French Foreign Legion was also noted is the conflict that flared up in Cote d'Ivoire. One gets the impression that France has set itself the goal of creating for itself the most aggressive image on the entire European continent. Very often, Paris starts playing “big”, regardless of the interests of its allies in the North Atlantic Alliance. Thus, in April 2011, French paratroopers occupied the airport of the economic capital of Cote d'Ivoire, Abidjan. Thus, the total strength of the French military corps located there was about 1,400 people.

The total number of UN peacekeeping forces in this country is 9 thousand people, of which only 900 were French. France independently decided to increase the size of its military corps, without coordinating the actions with the UN leadership. The basis of the French military corps is the military of the Foreign Legion, who have been taking part in Operation Unicorn for several years. In addition, the French government stated that the contingent that arrived in Côte d'Ivoire is coordinating actions with unoci troops, thus effectively recognizing that, in addition to the Unicorn, France is also conducting its own independent operation on the country's territory.

Thus, the French Foreign Legion is sent to those areas where France seeks to protect its interests within or “under the cover” of the European Union or the North Atlantic Alliance, as well as where there are certain historical obligations or a threat to the lives of French citizens.

Dozens of young guys arrive in France to start a new life - join the Foreign Legion, earn money, and obtain French citizenship. Again, military romance beckons. However, almost no one has complete and reliable information about what awaits them there. Many will be disappointed.

First approach

The French Foreign Legion is one of the most closed military organizations in the world. It is subsidized to a greater extent by the French state, and to a lesser extent through special operations on a contract basis. Only foreign citizens are accepted into the legion (officers are an exception, many of them previously served in the French regular army), and it ensures the military presence of France in the “hot spots” of the planet, including conducting special operations (here we can mention, in particular, Cote- D'Ivoire, Chad, Senegal, Gabon).

The French public is completely calm and even positive about the fact that the country’s interests are protected not by the French military, but by foreign contract workers. Yes, France protects its citizens, and regular units in special operations are used (if it comes down to it) only in second place - legionnaires come first. And no one in France is demanding the withdrawal of troops from South America and Africa, because the country’s armed forces are represented there by the Foreign Legion.

To this day, the legion is believed to hide criminals. This is wrong. Firstly, everyone who wants to join is checked against the Interpol database and, if the person is wanted, he is handed over to the police. Secondly, serious control of the purity of the ranks is carried out as part of the entrance tests. Thirdly, for each language group there is a legion security officer who unofficially travels to the country where the candidates come from and collects dossiers on each.

So it is impossible for a character with a serious criminal past to get into the legion. At the same time, one-time arrests to the police for petty hooliganism are not taken into account.

Nikolai Chizhov, served in the Foreign Legion for five years under a contract, now an employee of the Encore security agency in Bordeaux: There are quite a lot of Russians serving in the Foreign Legion. There was a period when our guys were accepted very willingly, but now when recruiting, the military gives preference to Europeans (Germans, Finns, Irish, etc.) and respects national diversity. Russians entering service in the legion are divided into three main categories: young romantics, former military men and guys from the “brigades” who managed to leave before being convicted and are hiding from their own people. Russians mostly stick together and help each other.

Recruitment into the Legion outside French territory is prohibited. In France itself, there are 20 recruitment centers where those interested can come and try to sign up as candidates.

Now you are incognito

Let's say our guy found the addresses of recruitment centers in France, bought a ticket from a travel agency (you can, of course, use an invitation from any Schengen country), received a visa and arrived at the place. What's next?

Vadim Osmalovsky, was prematurely discharged from the legion due to injury, is now setting up a private business: At the entrance to the recruiting center, they took my passport, then searched me, conducted a medical examination and asked my name, surname, date and place of birth, where I came from, if I had a criminal record. , asked about parents, motivation, etc. After that, they assigned a new name, date, place of birth and assigned me to a room. It was possible to go out only when necessary: ​​to eat, to undergo additional medical examination, for example. In the room there was a TV and a video player with cassettes about the legion - that’s all the leisure time. I didn’t speak French, so Russian legionnaires helped me and translated. A couple of days later we were all sent to a selection camp in the south of France - in Aubagne.

A question that interests many: why do they change a volunteer’s name? Previously, this was done to hide a person, since the legion did not care about the volunteer’s past. At the beginning of the last century, famous criminals actually fled from justice in the Foreign Legion, and after World War II, former Wehrmacht employees did so.

Now the name change is largely due to the fact that in some countries mercenary work is considered illegal. And of course, this is a tribute to tradition.

Nikolai Chizhov: When I entered the service, not everyone changed their name - for example, they kept my real name. And now everyone who joins the legion is given a new name. The soldier is returned to his old name after the “ratification” procedure, which takes place in the first three years of service. But then, when applying for French citizenship (this can be done after three years of service in the legion - “Money”), a person can indicate that he wants to change his last name. Then he is given a list of several surnames starting with the same letter as his old one. You have to choose from the list, you can’t come up with it yourself. Changing your last name makes everything very difficult, but some people do it anyway.

Every four weeks, 50 people are recruited from all recruitment centers and sent to the south of France to the city of Aubagne, where the legion selection camp is located. In Aubagne, candidates undergo tests that become more difficult every year. This is due to the introduction of new equipment into the arsenal, including sophisticated electronics, so the passing IQ score increases.

Vadim Osmalovsky: Upon admission, we took the following tests: psychotechnical (we spent two hours solving problems on logic, technical acumen, puzzles), physical (endurance - you need to run at least 2.8 km in 12 minutes), medical (full medical examination up to dental condition). In addition, they underwent a three-stage interview with security officers (applicants call this “Gestapo”), where you need to tell your biography in detail and explain your motivation. Basically, people are eliminated there, and it is impossible to understand the methods of the security service; it is guided by its own criteria.

If all tests are successfully passed, the legion signs a contract with the newcomer for five years, after which the recruit is sent to a training camp in the Pyrenees - near Toulouse - for four months. If the tests are not passed, then the person’s things and documents are simply returned, and the money earned while passing the tests is given (the main job is cleaning the territory or premises, for which they pay 25 euros per day, on weekends - 45 euros).

With this money, the failed commandos return home. The most persistent ones again begin to prepare to enter the legion - there may be three attempts, if the commission does not pronounce a verdict “unfit for service in the legion.”

Dangerous and difficult

After concluding a contract, volunteers begin a new life in the literal sense of the word. Guys with new names undergo serious training in a boot camp for four months, learning French, weapons, tactics, history of the legion and much more. The workload is crazy, the information is no longer duplicated - everything is given only in French, so some can’t stand it and desert. Recruits who have completed full training are assigned to regiments based on the needs of the legion and the level of preparedness of the fighter.

The word “deserter” is heard quite often when it comes to the legion. A very common myth (in the same media, for example) is that desertion is the only possible way to leave the legion. Allegedly, the legion's fighters are held by force, forced to serve almost under torture, and beaten.

Vadim Osmalovsky: Yes, before they really caught, beat, tortured and forced to serve. About 50 years ago. Now they are trying to hold on with long conversations and persuasion, periods for reflection and a “lip”, which is akin to a boarding house from the times of the USSR. It is really difficult to leave the legion in an official way, so more often they simply desert by jumping over the fence, but there is no talk of any violence - the times are not the same, and people are legally savvy, and the legion does not need scandals. They break down mainly during training, less often in the first years of service. They try to keep promising guys. And deserters often exaggerate in order to justify themselves in the eyes of their friends, inventing tales about hazing, which does not exist in the legion. It happens that senior ranks go too far, but such cases are harshly suppressed by the command, because the legion is a contract service, not an obligation.

Nowadays the legion consists of eight regiments and one semi-brigade, where about 8 thousand soldiers and officers serve. Not long ago, two regiments and one special detachment were disbanded on the island of Mayotte (Comoros). The regiments are deployed mainly in France, in the cities of Aubagne, Castelnaudary, Calvi (Corsica island), Orange, Avignon, Nimes and St. Cristol. And also in Djibouti (Africa) and in the overseas department of Guiana (South America), in the city of Kourou.

Legionnaires serving in regiments stationed in France regularly go on business trips and training to Djibouti, Guiana, and Reunion (an island east of Madagascar).

Nikolai Chizhov: Our “training” in Guiana lasted two weeks. Guiana is a jungle where the humidity is probably 120%. It took us 24 hours to get to the base in pirogues and trucks, then the exercises began. The last one was a survival course in the equatorial forest. They explained to us what we could eat from living creatures and plants, who to be afraid of, who to hunt. Then we were thrown into the jungle for three days without provisions, with one rifle per platoon, and one machete, knife, fishing kit and salt per group. On the first day they built a bivouac, on the second they set traps for animals, on the third they made a raft and rafted down the river to their destination. By the way, it is very difficult to build a raft, since almost all tropical trees drown, you need to know non-sinking ones, and there are few of them. Nothing fell into the traps, because “trials” are constantly carried out in that area, so the animals fled and the fruits were eaten. We walked around hungry all the time, eating palm cores. The most desperate ones ate scorpions and grasshoppers. And we slept only in hammocks so that snakes and insects would not bite us. And with a mosquito net, because there are millions of mosquitoes. It was also advisable not to get hurt or scratched, since scratches take a painfully long time to heal due to humidity. Some had to be hospitalized.

Vadim Osmalovsky: One of our “internships” took place in Djibouti, where there is a different specificity - African. In winter the temperature is plus 30-40°C, and in summer it can reach up to 60°C. We arrived just in time for the summer “training” - it was unbearably hot. At night we couldn’t sleep because of the heat; we covered ourselves with wet towels. In general, African “experience” is difficult. We slept little, some could not stand it and left the race - to the infirmary.

Advantages and disadvantages

Service in the legion is difficult not only because of the training, but also because the legion is constantly on combat readiness - service can easily be classified as “survival”. What do the legionnaires have for this? Firstly, after three years of service, any legionnaire has the right to submit a request for French citizenship, then his application will be examined by the immigration service, and the result depends on his service record and characteristics. Secondly, the salary, which is not meager or fabulous, as Russian media often report, the truth, as usual, is in the middle.

A new legionnaire with 10 months of experience serving in France receives about 1 thousand euros per month, and in the case of a business trip, for example, to Djibouti - about 2,500 euros per month. Legionnaire paratroopers receive about 1,800 euros in France and a little more than 3 thousand euros. in Africa. If we consider that a standard business trip lasts about four months, then there is no need to talk about the significant enrichment of legionnaires. As for the command staff, for example, a sergeant chief receives about 1,800 euros while serving in France. And to earn 5 thousand euros, you need to be not only a high-ranking officer, but also a father with many children, because the salary is calculated based on the number of children.

Vadim Osmalovsky: With the rank of corporal of the 1REG - engineer and sapper regiment, I earned 1247 euros per month while at the place of deployment. When I was sent to Djibouti for five months, I received 2,900 euros per month. But business trips usually happen once a year, so in a year I earned about 25 thousand euros. Then I was without a family and children, such a salary suited me. Now it would be more difficult: renting an apartment, food, clothes for the whole family... In general, a legionnaire’s salary cannot be called large, but it cannot be called beggarly either.

Contrary to the legends about the fabulous pension of legionnaires, after 15 years of service in the legion they pay 800 euros per month. And in recent years, these 15 years have turned into 17.5. There is also a pension tariff, which depends on where the legionnaire served and how long, and for paratroopers, the number of jumps is counted. However, tariffing does not radically change the amount.

So, is it worth going to serve in the legion and risking your life there for the sake of non-guaranteed French citizenship and a very average salary by European standards? After all, legionnaires are dying, despite the fact that France is not currently conducting military operations. During peace missions, for example.

In the first third of the 19th century, France planned an invasion of Algeria. An expeditionary force was needed for a military operation. King Louis Philippe decided to create a new formation with the involvement of foreigners, of whom there were in abundance in the capital at that time. Thus, the government got rid of undesirable elements, including those who had problems with the law. From then on, it became a custom not to ask a new recruit’s name. The officers were appointed from Napoleon's former army. On March 9, 1831, the monarch decreed that the French Foreign Legion could only be used outside mainland France. Despite the fact that the unit is part of the French ground forces, in emergency cases it is subordinate to only one person - the head of state. The government can dispose of fighters without the approval of the National Assembly, which turns the Legion into a universal tool for achieving political goals.

Legendary Unit

Over the one hundred and eighty-four years of the expeditionary force's existence, about 650,000 people served in it. More than 36,000 of them died in battle. The unit was not spared by the colonial operations of France and not a single significant warrior in the world. The French Foreign Legion participated in two world wars and more than thirty local armed conflicts in Europe, Africa, the Middle and Far East, and even in Mexico. He also happened to fight on Russian territory: in November 1854, the Legion took part in one of the episodes of the Crimean War - in the battle of Inkerman. It had its largest numbers at the beginning of the First World War - almost 43,000 fighters of more than fifty nationalities.

Elite armed forces of Europe

Over the decades, the French Foreign Legion has evolved from a gang of cutthroats and renegades into an elite unit of constant combat readiness. The personnel from 140 countries of the world includes 5,545 privates, 1,741 non-commissioned officers and 413 officers. 11 units of the Legion are deployed both on the territory of France itself (continental, on the islands of Corsica and Sardinia) and in overseas possessions. Among them:

• Kourou (French Guiana) - the European space center is located here.
• Mururoa Atoll in the Pacific Ocean is a nuclear weapons testing site.
• The island of Mayotte (Comoros archipelago) is an overseas department of France.
• UAE - protection of oil refining industry facilities.

Regiments are also deployed in Afghanistan, New Caledonia, Cote d'Ivoire and Djibouti. The French Foreign Legion carries out tasks to restore and maintain peace, and also carries out special operations in the interests of the state's foreign policy (fighting in the jungle, neutralizing terrorists, releasing hostages). Personnel are recruited to provide humanitarian assistance. The command is located in the city of Aubagne, 15 km from Marseille.

The unit is equipped with the most advanced combat and engineering equipment and small arms. The standard weapon is a French-made Famas G2 automatic rifle with a caliber of 5.56 mm. The fighters have at their disposal 81-mm and 120-mm mortars, effective sniper systems, guided anti-tank missile systems, automatic anti-aircraft guns, and armored personnel carriers. According to many analysts, the combat training of the foreign corps is significantly higher than that of similar formations in other European countries.

Heraldry, form and unique traditions

The emblem of the French Foreign Legion is a stylized 19th-century graphic of the rising flame of an exploding grenade. This unique coat of arms is also depicted on the formation’s standard. The flag is a diagonally divided vertical rectangle. The upper green segment means the new homeland of the legionnaires, the red one means the blood of the warrior. During the battle, the flag is turned over - blood is in the homeland.

The motto is the exclamation: “Legio Patria Nostra” (The Legion is our homeland). The uniform of the French Foreign Legion contains some extravagant attributes that at first glance have nothing to do with military affairs. Legionnaires marching in a ceremonial carriage are dressed in gray trousers. The waist is intercepted blue scarf made of sheep wool. Its length is exactly 4.2 meters, width - 40 cm. Legionnaires began to use scarves in 1930 in Algeria in order to protect the lower back from hypothermia in the sands at night. Headdress - a classic French cut, snow-white caps, protection from the merciless African sun. For decades, the boots of the French Foreign Legion have remained an unchanged attribute. The shoes are made of nubuck. Despite the apparent massiveness, they are very convenient for use in the desert. They are made in two standard colors: black and chestnut. The badge on the cap depicts the same a grenade explosion with seven flashes of fire.But that's not all.

Pioneer March

During parades and other special events, you can watch an exclusive sight: marching soldiers in strange ammunition. By the way, the pace of the legionnaires is original, slow: 88 steps per minute - one and a half times less than traditionally accepted. This emphasizes the privilege and special mission of desert soldiers on distant frontiers. You can't really march on the sand. There is also a unique category of warriors called pioneers. The Pioneers of the French Foreign Legion are an elite unit that marches at the forefront of any parade. These warriors look terrifying: over their uniform they wear an apron made of buffalo leather with one strap, and a 1.5-kilogram ax rests on their shoulder.

But in reality there is no bloodthirstiness in this appearance. Pioneers are sappers, those who ensure the advancement of military units in any situation. They clear roads and build crossings, and take care of logistics. The sappers of the foreign corps are the only unit in the French army that has preserved the tradition of the procession of warriors with axes unchanged since the 18th century. Although there is still a hidden subtext: the French Foreign Legion is always ready to clear the way for the regular units of the French army following behind.

Where do they recruit?

The personnel is recruited from men aged 17 to 40 years. If anyone is interested in the question of how to get into the French Foreign Legion, then you should know that recruitment centers are located only in France. There are fifteen bureaus in major cities, including Paris. Embassies, consulates and the Legion itself do not provide any assistance in issuing migration documents. Moreover, a recruit intending to cross the threshold of a mobilization point must be in the country legally. We must not lose sight of the fact that mercenarism in many CIS countries is prosecuted by law, but there are legal loopholes. You can go on a tourist visa to one of the Schengen countries, and then take a train or bus to any recruiting point. The central filtration camp is located near Marseille, in the city of Aubagne. From collection points in French cities, volunteers are sent here once or twice a week.

Recruit trials

The requirements for recruits are simple: endurance and health. The candidate will undergo a physical fitness test, a standard general medical examination and psychological tests. The physical fitness exam consists of a cross-country race: you need to run at least 2.8 km in 12 minutes. You need to do pull-ups on the bar at least five times. Press press - at least 40 times. If the candidate is physically prepared, then the next step is a standard medical examination procedure to determine the absence of diseases or their complete cure. Medical records must demonstrate good health. The absence of 4 teeth is allowed, but the rest must be healthy. If you are not rejected at this stage, then you will then have to undergo a series of psychological tests, including mental stability and attentiveness. A volunteer who passes all three types of selection is offered a five-year contract. Knowledge of French is not required. The selection lasts for two weeks. After concluding the contract, the recruit’s identification documents are confiscated and in return they are given a so-called anonymous ID - a metric with a fictitious name, surname and place of birth.

Material reward

Service in this unit is very prestigious. All hired personnel (from privates to corporals) are provided with food, uniforms and housing. The Elysee Palace has long abandoned universal conscription. The recruitment of the armed forces is based on a contract basis. One of the highest paid military units of the armed forces of the Fifth Republic is the French Foreign Legion. Salary depends on many components. Recruits receive a monthly salary of € 1,040. Allowances are given for length of service, service in an airborne unit, in difficult climatic conditions of overseas departments, participation in foreign business trips and combat operations. The approximate range of material compensation after a year of service is as follows:

Military personnel are entitled to 45 days of vacation per year. After 19 years of conscientious service, legionnaires are awarded a lifetime pension in the amount of € 1,000. A former legionnaire can receive pension payments in any region of the globe.

Career growth

The first fixed-term contract is signed for five years. Upon completion, the serviceman, at his discretion, can extend the contract for a period of six months to ten years. Only persons with French citizenship who have graduated from military educational institutions can be officers in the Legion. During the first five years of service, a distinguished legionnaire can be awarded the rank of corporal, and after three years he is given the opportunity to request French citizenship or obtain a residence permit. In 1999, the Senate passed a law according to which a legionary who was wounded during combat has the right to obtain citizenship regardless of the length of service. The awards of the French Foreign Legion are the same as in other formations of the armed forces. As in any professional army, they do not provide any benefits. Statistics show that every fourth legionnaire reaches the rank of non-commissioned officer. In addition, if desired, military personnel can acquire civilian specialties: from crafts (mason, carpenter) to high-tech (system administrator).

Only chance

The principle of recruiting rank and file from foreigners continues to this day. For many residents of third world countries, service in the French Foreign Legion is the only chance to break out into the world. A third of the personnel are from Eastern European countries, a quarter are from the Latin American world, and the rest are French who want to start life from scratch. After five years of service, natives of the country are given the opportunity to change any two letters in their surname and receive new documents.

Our compatriots in the Legion

Russians first appeared in the French Foreign Legion in 1921, when the First Cavalry Regiment was formed from the remnants of Wrangel's defeated army. At the same time, the career of Ya. M. Sverdlov’s elder brother and M. Gorky’s godson Z. A. Peshkov began. Zinovy ​​Alekseevich rose to the rank of lieutenant general. From 1917 to 1919, the future Marshal of the Soviet Union R. Ya. Malinovsky served in the 1st Moroccan Division. Nowadays, according to various estimates, the Legion numbers about a thousand people from the CIS countries, including several hundred Russian speakers. Our compatriots are in good standing, many have real combat experience.

French Foreign Legion. Reviews. Service

Those who have dedicated many years of their lives to the Legion speak of a special atmosphere of military brotherhood. This spirit is cultivated in the first months of service by merciless drill. All concepts of a past life are mercilessly eradicated from the recruit. It is not for nothing that this squad is given unflattering comparisons: “a legion of lost souls”, “the grave of Europeans”. However, such psychological selection is quite natural for any special forces unit, which in essence is the French Foreign Legion. Reviews from mature and morally strong people are filled with different rhetoric, calling it a legion of honor, in which officers share with the soldiers all the hardships of service. Severe disciplinary measures are designed to instill iron will, devotion to the state and the dignity of a warrior. One of our compatriots said that here foreigners are given a great honor: to prove their loyalty to France by dying for it. The result of psychological treatment is best reflected by the anthem of the French Foreign Legion:

"A knight's share is honor and loyalty.
We are proud to be one of those
Who goes to his death."

At the same time, the military leadership pays enough attention to the recreation of legionnaires. The formation has its own hotels for organizing leisure activities. There is also a home for the disabled for lifelong examination of those who have received severe injuries.

About motivation

- the first ones are those who came to earn money, to get a French passport if possible, without planning to connect their lives with LE for a long time, those who do not have any special illusions about the service, who came for their 5-year contract and moreover;

- the second type includes those who love the army lifestyle, who are attracted to adventures, travel and various kinds of adventures (in the good sense of the word), who would like to see themselves in the French Legion as a “Soldier of Fortune”, to be a “Peacemaker”, helping people all over the world, and for this type of recruit, money is not a top priority;

- and others who have problems with the law in their home country and for them the French Foreign Legion truly becomes a refuge, since first of all, if you are allowed into the recruiting station, your first and last name will be changed, which you have the right to keep for yourself even after the end of the contract . It is clear that it will be much more difficult for law enforcement agencies to find such a person to bring to justice.

In my observation, it often happens that a recruit cannot be classified into any one category. So, many come to the Legion, including the author of the article, on the one hand, to get a job and a decent salary, and on the other, to satisfy the thirst for adventure and change, which is far from the least important in the recruit’s motivation.

Many come to the Legion for money, but subsequently stay there for the sake of length of service or, as they say, career, as well as French citizenship, and for them the Legion becomes a second home. Some flee to LE from persecution of the law, but subsequently realize that the Legion suits them in spirit, that this is their element.

It happens differently. Oddly enough, many recruits cannot clearly answer why they came to the Legion and what they expect from the service. As a rule, such weakly motivated young people who do not have clear goals make up a large percentage of refuseniks - those who refused to serve in the Legion of their own free will and left with the consent of the Legion leadership while still in the city of Aubagne - second place (after the recruitment point) to select future recruits, or refused, having already signed a preliminary 5-year contract while in the Castelnaudary training camp.

Often it is from such young people, who left the service for various reasons in the first months, but want to justify their departure, that you can hear heartbreaking stories about the difficulties and even horrors of serving in LE.

What will be noteworthy here is the fact that the bulk of the “deserters” are those who “broke down” in their studies or left before the end of the first year of service. They are less likely to leave in the second and third years of service - due to family problems at home, due to health problems, or simply being disappointed in the service, when what is expected from service in LE, supported by strong motivation, does not correspond or goes against reality.

Therefore, to summarize the above, I would like to point out some facts from the life of a legionnaire that you need to know and remember when preparing to enter the French Foreign Legion.

So, about the salary.

On average, a legionnaire in France receives from 1,100 to 1,700 euros, depending on rank, location, length of service, etc. However, as practice shows, it is very difficult to save something in the first years of service - a lot of money is spent on entertainment, items household items, rental housing (allowed to live outside the barracks after three years of excellent service), some uniform items, cigarettes, booze, etc., etc.

A few manage to accumulate more than 20 thousand euros during the first contract. And then, this is if you limit yourself in many ways. I quote the words of a current legionnaire on this matter:

«… We won’t take the castel (meaning that in the first months all your salary goes towards your own support – author’s note). From the 5th month of service, your salary is about 1100 euros.
So you:
— you spend the weekend in a unit (during your vacation, you also don’t go anywhere);
— you don’t drink beer (why, if there is water in the tap);
— you don’t buy anything for food (you eat exclusively in the canteen);
— you don’t smoke (that’s right, smoking is harmful);
- the telephone, computer, iron and other appliances are not of interest to you;
— based on the above, you don’t use the Internet either.
But even with all this, you will spend about a hundred euros on soap, toothpaste and other personal hygiene items. You can, of course, “shoot” or steal all this (then you’ll be screwed)…»

or here's another one:

«… The main mistake of guys planning to join the legion is that they don’t take the legionnaire’s salary and multiply it by the number of months spent in the legion - from this you get a mythical amount that supposedly can be saved during service... The first couple of years in the legion are typical for EVERYONE , I emphasize - FOR EVERYONE - that money is spent very powerfully... You still don’t know France, and Europe in general, on your first vacation you still don’t know which hotels are best to stay in, which modes of transport are best to travel, and many other important things, in short - a complete mess...

Someone, of course, will say - “well, I’m not like that, I’m the smartest, I won’t get caught like that...” but this is all empty talk. I had a friend here in the parachute. He was - in the sense that he is now in another regiment, in Aubagne, he fell under the annual distribution from Corsica to other regiments and left for 1 RE. I remember sitting with him in a room in Djibouti, drinking tea, and I told him how I got rid of it after my first tournant in Kosovo... (And this trip in 13 DBLE was his first tournant, so he had yet to go through his “first "Vacation.) The only negative, I say - I arrived after vacation, went into the room, threw my bag on the floor, turned out all the pockets and poured out the change on my bunk - everything that was left after the vacation.

Naturally, he made such a clever joke, it was written right on his forehead - “well, I’m not like that, I won’t waste my hard-earned money like that - I need to save something for life, so to speak...”. We arrived from Djibouti, spent a week of guard duty in Calvi and left on vacation. I meet him after this vacation, and he returned from it exactly like I did from my first - with coins in his pockets. They went to Spain with a boy who was of the same draft as him. There are a lot of memories, but not a lot of money. But how you swore…»

Thus, if you spend practically nothing, you are left with about 10,000 euros per year or about 1,000 euros per month. Let everyone decide for themselves whether this is a lot of money or not. But it is difficult to imagine a contract soldier who does not allow himself to “let off steam”, who regularly deposits all the money he earns into a bank account or sends it to his relatives.

Of course, being in combat or other extreme conditions, a legionnaire receives much more. But, firstly, during the first 5 years of the contract you may never go on a long business trip, much less to hot spots (few people ever get there). Secondly, extreme conditions can mean loss of health and even life; is it worth talking about money in this case?

Secondly, regarding travel and the desire to see the world.

The French Foreign Legion sends its combat units (meaning outside France) to the following areas:

- firstly, these are places known to everyone with unsuitable conditions for life (climate plus flora and fauna hazardous to health), if not unsuitable, where your main activities will be daily grueling training, passing standards, exercises, tournants (long trips abroad) - so to speak, the routine of legionary life, and not at all sightseeing. Some, after such “travels,” end up straight in hospital beds;

- the second place where a legionnaire can end up is, naturally, any place where hostilities are taking place. And in this sense, the Legion may not be the best way to travel and see the world.

Third, it is reliably known that the Legion does not want to accept citizens who have committed serious crimes in their homeland(high probability of relapse) and especially those wanted by Interpol. I haven’t personally encountered this, but there are rumors that a person who is in the Interpol database, after being recruited and having his passport checked, goes straight to the local police commissariat. Long gone are the days when murderers and robbers were accepted into the Legion. Therefore, the only way to escape justice in LE is to hide your criminal history upon admission, which is not so easy, given the cross-examination system during selection in the city of Aubagne.

In conclusion, I would like to note the following. It may seem that I am exaggerating and portraying the LE service in a light that is favorable to me. Believe me, this is not true. My personal legionary history became a good school of life for me, given my young age at the time of recruitment.

Firstly, I learned from my own experience to accept the inevitable (meaning the ban on serving). In addition, about two years of physical training (more on this in the next article) were not in vain, physical education and running became partly a way of life for me, which prompted me to first quit smoking and then give up alcohol.

Secondly, today I can easily express myself in conversational French (before the story with the Legion, I only knew phrases like “bounjour monsieur, not manche pas si jour” and other similar phrases. Therefore, I do not hold any grudges against the Legion. And I have nothing to take revenge on him for, if this expression is appropriate in relation to the Legion.

Thus, the information that I offer in this article is not the final authority, it is just my personal view of events. And if future recruits read this article - if, of course, there are any - I want to wish them clarity in their motives and expectations from visiting LE, so as not to waste either their own or others' time and money.

/Andrey Verenitsky, specially for Army Herald/