I have been getting hundreds of e-mails asking questions about The French Foreign Legion. The life, how to join, age and height limits, marital status and so on. Due to the number and repetition of the questions, I have tried to answer your questions and give some general advice advice. What I say is not necessarily definitive and I do not speak for the Legion.
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Firstly I want to say that joining the Legion in not something to be entered into lightly. It is a way of life like no other, and if you are accepted, there are sacrifices to be made. You are not joining the army in your home country, it is not a 9 - 5 job where you finish the day and go back home to the wife and kids. Like everything else in life, it is only as good as you make it. This is not an easy way out of your problems, but if you can adapt to the way of life and are determined to make it work, it can be a life changing experience. The first requirement for joining is the most obvious, but I have been asked the question. You must be a man ... Sorry ladies. |
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You must be of single status, divorced or separated, and be prepared to deny you wife and family for many years until you qualify by rank or service, to have the right to be married. There is no exception to this rule, and don't imagine for one moment that you will get round the problem. If you pay attention in particular to the chapters 2 & 3 of my story you will see why.
You must be over 5'3" tall, but being too tall can be a problem for some regiments such as the parachute regiment or mechanized regiments where there is a question of fitting into small spaces.
You must be over 18 but under 40 years of age when you apply. If you are 17 you will require the permission of your parents.
You must be able to pass the strictest of medicals. If you are a recent drug user, they will find any traces of substance abuse which will normally mean exclusion. 20/20 vision is expected but it is up to the medical examiners to decide any exceptions. You have to be reasonably fit when you apply but you will receive all the fitness training you require on the job, and that will be to a level beyond your dreams.
A minor criminal background will not necessarily be a problem, but the Legion is not a hiding place for wanted criminals. That is not to say that if you have a minor criminal record you will be excluded. Extensive security checks are made, and if your identity can not be confirmed, or it is revealed that you are wanted by any country, there is more than a chance that you will be rejected and handed over to the appropriate authority.
You don't have to speak French when you apply. All tests will be given in your own language, but once you are accepted, everything is in French and you will be helped to learn the language. The quicker you do, the easier it will be.
If you decide that you want to present yourself at a recruitment center, do not bring your worldly possessions or expensive clothing. All of your possessions will be taken from you and held until you are either accepted or rejected. If rejected your possessions will be returned to you, but if you are accepted there is more than a chance that you will never see them again. Clothing normally ends up going to charities, and by the time you would have earned the right to get them back, they would be out of fashion anyway. Everything is taken from you and that includes personal photographs of your family, documents, books of any kind and that includes religious ones. You are left standing in your underwear and even that is supplied.
The reason for this is part of the psychology of making you totally dependent on the Legion for everything, and it does work, helping you to bond as a family rather than simply somewhere you work.
Religion is not a problem. The Legion is the only true multi-national, multi-religion, multi-lingual organization in the world. There is a place for all, but the most important thing is your total loyalty to the Legion before anything.
There is no place in the Legion for the bully or egoist who thinks that he is the greatest thing ever to walk the planet. It is not a training ground for would be 'terrorists' or 'naturally born killers'. The Legion will find them out, break them, then throw them out. If you think you know all about violence and know no fear, then be prepared to be very afraid.
If you pass selection the initial contract is for five years, and it can not be broken by either side. If you break the rules be prepared to be punished, and if you really break the rules your feet won't touch the ground. Make no mistake that this is a mans army. This does not mean that you will be brutalized or your rights abused, but corporal punishment does exist and if you can't hack that, don't join or cry about it afterwards.
I left after 11 years service due to an attractive financial package being offered by the French government at the time, to anyone wishing to leave after ten but before fourteen years service. I was 38 when I joined and was rapidly approaching 50. There is no place in the 2nd REP or any other combat regiment for anyone almost as fit as the rest of the regiment, so I took the money, thank you very much. I enjoyed every moment of my service even if there were some hard times.
There is only one way to apply to join the Legion. Go to France, turn up at a recruiting centre and knock on the door. Be honest with them and yourself, and don't think that you can blab your way in. They have been at the recruiting game for a long time and have seen and heard it all.
If you think you still want to have a go, good luck, I hope you make it. It is an experience never to be forgotten. I certainly don't regret it.
Also worth looking at is this French TV documentary (Note that it is in French) 0000 CLICK HERE