
The Expendables: Life in the French Foreign Legion (2012) - johnny313
https://www.vanityfair.com/culture/2012/12/french-foreign-legion-expendables
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thinkingkong
Been a few posts about the foreign legion here recently. Are people thinking
about alternatives to sitting at a desk? It seems like the most extreme
counter.

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chaostheory
I think for former criminals who have finished serving their time, the Foreign
Legion would be a chance for a fresh start if they chose to keep the new
identity that the Foreign Legion assigns to them.

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presscast
That's largely a thing of the past. You're more likely to be handed over to
Interpol than anything else today.

Also, HN-ers beware -- the FFL doesn't take people without military
experience, anymore.

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norswap
That doesn't seem to be true: [https://www.legion-
recrute.com/mdl/pages.php?id=2&titre=Les-...](https://www.legion-
recrute.com/mdl/pages.php?id=2&titre=Les-conditions-d-engagement)

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presscast
In practice, it _is_ true. They have a long line of candidates, and will
prefer those with experience.

Source: am a reserve infantryman at 94th RI, 3rd Company. Regularly train with
2ème REP.

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ilamont
That was a great read.

Certainly removes any romantic notions about the Legion and its place in
French society.

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saalaa
Funnily enough, the Legion étrangère is not a romantic thing at all in France.
I have in fact always found it odd that it was even a topic, mostly for
Americans to be honest.

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ilamont
I think that owes a lot to Hollywood depictions, as the article mentions.

