French Foreign Legion Information

From May 11 to 20, 2026, Exercise Libecciu 2026 took place across several regions of western and central France, primarily in Nouvelle-Aquitaine and Centre-Val de Loire. The exrcise was conducted by the 2nd Foreign Parachute Regiment (2e REP), an elite airborne regiment of the Foreign Legion. Based at Calvi, Corsica, it serves as one of ...

65 years ago, in late April 1961, a military revolt failed in Algeria, then an integral part of France in North Africa. The revolt became one of the most controversial events in France’s modern history. The Foreign Legion actively participated, and the consequences of this failed coup affected the Legion for many years to come. ...

On May 8, 2026, French Foreign Legion units commemorated the 81st anniversary of the end of the Second World War in Europe, marking the definitive overall surrender of Nazi Germany to the Allied forces in 1945. As every year, legionnaires took part in ceremonies held both in France and overseas to honor the veterans and ...

On the night of May 4–5, 2026, a legionnaire of the French Foreign Legion’s 1st Foreign Engineer Regiment (1er REG) died during a night military diving exercise in the Maine River in Angers, western France. A second French soldier also died in the same incident. Sergeant Bin Chen, assigned to the 1er REG based in ...

On April 30, 2026, the French Foreign Legion observed the 163rd anniversary of the Battle of Camerone, the legendary action that forged the Legion’s identity and esprit de corps. On that day in Mexico in 1863, a company of 62 legionnaires led by Captain Jean Danjou stood against some 2,000 Mexican soldiers. The legionnaires refused ...