Foreign Legion
Volunteer corps of foreigners within a country's army. The French Légion Etrangère, founded in 1831, is one of a number of such forces. Enlisted volunteers are of any nationality (about half are now French), but the officers are usually French. Headquarters until 1962 was in Sidi Bel Abbés, Algeria; the main base is now Corsica, with reception headquarters at Aubagne, near Marseille, France.
The French foreign legion was founded by Louis-Philippe ‘to clear France of foreigners’ and since then has always taken cast-offs and undesirables, including those from the French army itself.
Levels of desertion are relatively high, around 6%.
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