hi, i just wanted to ask if van damme played a french character in this movie. If so the movie is sort of wrong, french nationals cant join the legion and we didnt see him lying in the film that he was swiss, canadian or belgian etc. Although back then the legion needed all the men they could get i guess.
shareBack in the days when the movie took place (1920's), all a recruit had to do was to state that he was from a different country. A Frenchman could easily state that he was a Belgian (where half the country speaks French) and no questions would have been asked. Nowadays it's a different story, but back then the French had colonies all over the world, and needed as many bodies as they could muster to defend those colonies.
shareBut they still weren't good at wars.............. ;)
Thats was a joke
But cant anyone who want join thr french foreign legion, no matter which country one hails from..??
shareIt's called the "foreign" legion because it's a "legion of foreigners." For citizens of France who want to be soldiers, there's the French Army (they actually have one, you know). But, by law, you cannot be a citizen of France if you want to enlist in the Legion Etrangere. The officers of the Legion, however, ARE French.
sharewhat's more, not just any schmuck can get in the Legion ... you go through a rigorous selection process and only then can you even consider life in the Legion ... oh, yeah, after so many years--either two or five, or something like that--the legionnaires may also obtain either french citizenship or transfer into the regular French army i believe. if you survive the terrors of Legion life, the french must have decided that you deserve the privilege of being something like the right to be called a citizen of france
shareA show on TV in the UK recently had was called Legion:Are you tough enough(I think) and it had people joining up in the Legion(or at least a facsmillie of it) and seeing if they could cope. it might be a good thing to catch if you are interested in the Legion.
"This is my BOOMSTICK"
I have a friend who went into the US army at 17, did 4 years, and then went to France and joined the legion in '93. So I've heard lots of stories. These days, the legion is very picky about who it lets in. He had to hang around in limbo for several weeks while his background was being investigated before being allowed to enlist.
The legion is picky about who they let in for various reasons. They don't take criminal fugitives any more, although they have lots of applicants from former eastern bloc countries grooming themselves for a career in organized crime.
There is a fairly high desertion rate. Brits have one of the highest desertion rates, Americans have some of the lowest rates. Contrary to the movie, if someone deserts the legion, they don't look too hard for you.
A legionnaire can be given a new identity, but he can not chose his new name. After completing a 5 year contract, he is eligible for French citizenship, but it is not automatically granted. Like the movie mentioned, legionnaires do not serve France, they serve the legion. He said there wasn't any political indoctrination in his training, and said that the French people in general, ah, don't want their daughters dating legionaires...
The pay is better than the US military, and one can retire earlier. On the other side of the coin, there are hardly any other perks such as educational benefits. There's no such thing as a GI bill. The legion supports itself in part with business interests, including ownership of the largest brewery in France.
The training is tough and thorough. Beatings are allowed. Everybody will spend time in jail. But they also have excellent tactical training, including paratroop training, and good weapons and equipment.
My friend saw combat in Chad and Somalia, and spent the last year or so guarding the spaceport in Guianne -- Devil's Island.
It's clear from talking to him he's more proud of himself "as a soldier" from his legion experience than his experience in the Army. IOW, he thinks more highly of the legion than his own army.
But then, the movie depicted a legion of the past... But that's what it's like today, from what I've heard.
There is a fairly high desertion rate. Brits have one of the highest desertion rates, Americans have some of the lowest rates. Contrary to the movie, if someone deserts the legion, they don't look too hard for you.
I believe the poster is referring to desertion rates amongst different nationalities in the Foreign Legion.
Anyway, the desertion rate is around 5% (that's 5% of all legionnaires), so it's not a lot.
No he wasn't... read the part I quoted and pay attention.
And the post you replied to is over 2 years old...
2 Years....so it is.
I didn't notice that.
Anyway, yes he was. He was talking about the Legion.
The whole post is about the Legion.
Also, I shouldn't read the PART you quoted, I should read the POST you quoted.
That way I can put in the right context.
french people could join the foreign legion, that what it says in answers.com
As someone said earlier, in the past, when they took fugitives, a French national could simply say he was from Belgium or someplace, and they don't care.
The legion started as cynical way to get immigrants out of France. They were not expected to be a worthy fighting force. The attitude toward them changed after a famous battle in Mexico, which was probably the inspiration for the battle in the movie.
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Thanks for the info on the battles. I didn't mean to say that the movie was based on the Hacienda Camerone; only that it alluded to it. Anyway, it reminded me of it...
I still believe the legion started out more like I describe... it was the battle of Hacienda Camerone that changed everthing. I don't think France expected much from it until then. All I know about it is what I've read, and having known a former legionaire, who was proud of his service. The legion has had a few disgraces in its history, and I don't belive it began with nearly the same elite image it has now -- from a military POV. I understand that legionaires don't get much respect in their uniform from the French public.
The Legion is the most decorated French Army Division, and is the most highly regarded Army group or corps.
In France, if you say that you served in the Légion, you do get the honors of everyone. it usually means you shed blood for France.
It is however a sort of a legend in France, as if you said you served in the Navy S.E.A.LS. or the S.A.S, though it doesn't have the same elite tasks to perform. But it is still surrounded by the mystery if the forgotten identities, criminal backgrounds and such.
And frenchmen were eligible to join the Légion.
The Spanish have a Foreign Legion too, Thier training is only 4 months but well harder than intense, some people have believed to have DIED during training, There are roumours that some Recruits have also been shot at too. The Spanish Legion takes foreigners although most of thier men are Spanish.
An ancestor on my dads side of the family was in the French Foreign Legion around the same time this film was set. My dad says he believes he was killed in either Morroco or Algeria.
The French Foreign Legion(FFL) recruit men up to 40 years of age!
Who said the French Army are cowards? If they are, Why is the FFL the hardest army in the western world?
The French Foreign Legion(FFL) recruit men up to 40 years of age!
Who said the French Army are cowards? If they are, Why is the FFL the hardest army in the western world?
If they are, Why is the FFL the hardest army in the western world?
Please excuse lack of graves and acutes on this post ! I don't know how to do it on this board.
The true Legion, on its official site (not a tribute site or ex-legionnaire's site) :-
http://www.legion-etrangere.com
I'm Scottish. I'm never been a Legionnaire myself, but I am an amicale of the Legion who respects the Legion very much indeed. I subscribe to 'Kepi Blanc' and have had various communications with Legion regiments for over 25 years. I also have 2 ex-Legion friends in London UK (haven't seen them for a while). One was English ex-13e D.B.L.E./1er R.E. and the other was ex 2e R.E.I /1er R.E. I also met 2 of their friends, English ex-Legionnaires of 2e R.E.P. (recently left the Legion) who were waiting confirmation of taking part in a 'private commission' in a small upper South American country which needed a change of political direction.
I also collect original Legion insignes, kepis, berets, uniforms etc and have two complete Legionnaire uniforms mounted on mannequins, complete with medals etc :- 1) Legionnaire 2e Classe, 1er Regiment Etranger de Cavalerie in winter parade uniforme circa 1963 and 2) Caporal-Chef (re-engage), 2e Regiment Etranger de Parachutiste - summer parade uniforme circa 1982.
Even I have noticed, times have changed a lot. When I first started communicating with the Legion, around 1979, they were still hard to find and very secretive about outsiders. I didn't even expect a reply. However, they must have seen I was sincere and they wrote back and over the while generously helped me in various items of dress. I also started to subscribe to their in-house Kepi Blanc magazine, sent every month to Scotland from their HQ in Aubagne, near Marseille. Then around 1981, the Legion accepted one or two trusted authors and photgraphers among their ranks to write books about them for open publication. About the same time, ex-Legionnaire and author Simon Murray (ex- Caporal-Chef 2e R.E.P.) took a BBC film unit and made a programme about the Legion, inside the Legion. Bit by bit the Legion has opened up. Nowadays, the Legion is much more open and receptive to interested outsiders and film units etc and as you see from above, even has its own website.
Vive La Legion Etrangere
LEGIO PATRIA NOSTRA
You've heard of prehistoric Piltdown Man ? Come to Edinburgh today and meet Pilton Man !
"The legion started as cynical way to get immigrants out of France."
No it wasnt, it was created to protect french colonies.
"Well, they aren't the French Army for one thing"
Right, they're another corp of the french military, like the US Army is different from the US Marines.
"and it's important to know that the legion is a "legion of foriegners", not a "legion for foriegn places". The legion is a way to -become- French, but it is not a place for people who are already French."
You dont know *beep* Razzbar. The majority of the french foreign legion is french(60%).
There is no such thing as no frenchman can join it or only officers are french.
A frenchman can join the legion(as i said, 60% of the corp is made of frenchmen) they just wont be enlisted as french but francophones(like belgian, french canadian, swiss etc...) and foreigners who became french can become officers.
"French fathers do not generally want their daughters to marry legionaires."
Yay, a good stupid stereotype to end some real stupid, ignorance teinted posts.
In the aftermath of WWII a number of wanted war criminals, SS and Waffen SS members, former Gestapo, and other Nazi fugitives found a refuge in the FFL. I've read that in some Infantry companies in Vietnam or Algeria the German Legionnaires would infuriate their French officers by singing "Die Wacht am Rhein" and "Horst Wessel Lied". Pretty funny, depending on your point of view.
Where did you hear about this?
shareNo, you're wrong. French can absolutely join the Legion. Actually half of commanding officers in the Legion are French and French make up to 25% of all Legionnaires in modern Legion and before. The trick is that when new recruits present themselves to the Legion, their identity is changed. For Frenchmen, the recruiting officers will simply enroll them as Belgian, Swiss or Canadian, which are all french-speaking countries. But they are definitely French from France. They will recover their own identity when they are discharged from the Legion. Van damme is a french boxer in this movie.
share