Foreign Legion
Corps of the French Army, which is partly made up of foreign nationals
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Summary
Foreign Legion is a major military unit[1]. It ranks in the top 8% of major military unit entities by monthly Wikipedia readership (36,374 views/month).[2]
Key Facts
- Country: France[3]
- Instance of: military branch[4], volunteer military[5], elite unit[6], foreign legion[7], military legion[8]
- Anthem: Le Boudin[9]
- Founder: Louis-Philippe I[10]
- Named after: military legion[11], foreigner[12]
- Headquarters location: Aubagne[13]
- Military branch: French Army[14]
- Location: Aubagne[15]
- Part of: French Armed Forces[16], French Army[17]
- Commons category: French Foreign Legion[18]
- Color: red[19], green[20]
- Has part(s): French foreign legionnaire[21]
- Inception: March 10, 1831[22]
- Start time: March 10, 1831[23]
- Participated in conflict: French conquest of Algeria[24], First Carlist War[25], Crimean War[26], Second French intervention in Mexico[27], World War II[28], First Indochina War[29], Algerian War[30], Kosovo War[31], Opération Daguet[32], Operation Serval[33]
- Parent organization or unit: French Army[34]
- Day in year for periodic occurrence: April 30[35]
- Official website: https://www.terre.defense.gouv.fr/legion-etrangere[36]
- Topic's main category: Category:French Foreign Legion[37]
- Commons gallery: Légion étrangère[38]
- Director / manager: Jean Maurin[39], Paul-Frédéric Rollet[40]
- Employees: 7699[41]
- Described by source: Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary[42], Sytin Military Encyclopedia[43]
- Motto text: Legio patria nostra[44], Honneur et Fidélité[45]
- Native label: Légion étrangère[46]
Why It Matters
Foreign Legion has Wikipedia articles in 28 language editions, a strong signal of global cultural recognition.[47] It is known by 69 alternative names across languages and contexts.[48]