History of The French Foreign Legion - Number of Soldiers Served

Number of Soldiers Served

The Foreign Legion, unlike other body of the French army recruitment exclusively male (ex. submariners ), receives no statutory provision prohibiting the recruitment of women. Nevertheless, and given the high selection rate commitment (the recruits are selected after three weeks of testing and about one in six candidate was hired in 2006), it does not recruit as legionnaire, than men. In contrast, a variable number of officers and NCOs serve women within it, as "frameworks of the general assigned to the Legion." If these women wear the beret of the Institution, it does not carry the attributes of traditional (white cap, red epaulettes and green and blue belt).

The status of military personnel serving abroad as is governed by the Decree of 12 September 2008 . The latter has the repeal previous Order (No. 77-789 of July 1, 1977).

At right is a plan of the Legion conducted in 1963 and establishing the national origin of more than 600,000 Legionnaires who served 1831 to 1961 . At one point, the main countries of origin of the foreign legion are highly correlated with current events at this time, allowing the Legion to escape a lot of hassle for those left behind in a war or a regime in trouble. There was a very large majority of Germans, esp. after WWII, Poles from the beginning and during wars, after etc. Moreover, the French have committed in another French nationality, which increases the figures for Belgium and Switzerland.

An official site of recruitment has been established and specifies the conditions for recruitment into the Foreign Legion. As regards age limits, they range from age 17 1/2 (with parental consent) to 40 years.