France’s Foreign Legion still built for ‘hardest combat’ as drones reshape war
France's Foreign Legion – an elite force of foreign volunteers serving under French command – will on Thursday hold its most important annual commemoration. The legion's commander, General Cyrille Youchtchenko, spoke to RFI about its role in an era of drone warfare and rising security fears.
Founded in 1831, the legion is open to recruits from around the world and currently includes soldiers from 144 countries. Today, it has 9,600 troops, making up around 10 percent of the French army's ground forces, and is deployed across 17 territories.
Its annual Camerone ceremony commemorates the Battle of Camerone, fought in Mexico in 1863, when a small group of legionnaires made a last stand against overwhelming odds – a story that became the legion's founding myth.
Every 30 April, at its headquarters in Aubagne, the wooden hand of Captain Jean Danjou, one of the officers killed in the battle, is carried in procession as a symbol of loyalty, sacrifice and service to France.
While the model and demands of combat have changed significantly since, Youchtchenko says the legion's mission remains unchanged.
RFI: Camerone is rooted in the idea of direct combat and sacrifice. In an age when drones are transforming warfare, what is a legionnaire still useful for?
Cyrille Youchtchenko: A legionnaire is, above all, a fighter, and fighters are needed in every conflict. Once the battlefield has been shaped by air power or drones, at some point you still have to go in, engage and fight. The Foreign Legion trains, like the rest of the army, for the hardest combat and the most demanding battles.
The legion still has this role because it represents 10 percent of the French army today.
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RFI: You have also helped shape how French ground forces fight in modern wars, including during Operation Serval in Mali in 2013.
CY: Yes. During my time in staff roles, I worked on military doctrine, and I helped develop thinking on how French ground forces should operate in combat.
At one point, I wrote a version of how a combined tactical battle group should be deployed in a semi-desert environment.
That kind of tactical reflection on frontline engagement is part of a staff officer's job.
RFI: The Foreign Legion is deployed far beyond France itself, including in Estonia and off the coast of Lebanon. What does that say about its role today?
CY: The Foreign Legion is indeed a combat force. That is written into the law of 1831. We respond to the operational needs set by the French army.
Right now, 1,050 legionnaires are deployed across 17 different territories, including those you mentioned.
RFI: France's chief of defence staff, General Fabien Mandon, has raised the possibility of a confrontation with Russia before the end of the decade. How quickly could you expand in a crisis?
CY: The legion is fortunate to receive around 6,000 volunteers every year – 6,000 people who want to serve. Depending on the recruitment targets set by the army, I could recruit up to 6,000 candidates.
But at 9,600 legionnaires today, I believe the legion is currently at an appropriate peacetime size for France.
RFI: If the legion had to grow quickly, would that mean infantry or support regiments?
CY: If I had time, I could build a support regiment. But in a short timeframe, the simplest option would be an infantry regiment. We already have several infantry regiments, one cavalry regiment and two engineering regiments. Building extra capabilities would require more training time.
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RFI: Who joins the legion each year?
CY: Of the 6,000 volunteers who come forward, I recruit 1,100 each year. We currently have 144 nationalities. I do not think there is a single major language group not represented. Above all, they are volunteers.
RFI: Is recruitment a challenge?
CY: Recruitment is always a challenge. The first challenge is quantity. The second is quality. Our current selection rate is one in five, which I consider relatively good.
The third is diversity. No single language group should dominate. The legion is a blend of all these nationalities, held together by the French language. We currently have 12 percent French nationals and 27 percent French speakers, which is relatively good. But that is a daily challenge.
RFI: On 30 April, the legion marks Camerone, its founding battle. This year, former Chief of Defence Staff General Thierry Burkhard will carry Captain Danjou's wooden hand.
CY: Captain Danjou's hand, carried up the sacred path on Camerone Day in Aubagne, symbolises the oath every legionnaire takes – to serve France with honour and loyalty, and to serve the officers who embody France, because legion officers are French.
I asked General Burkhard to carry it this year because he will be joined by two emblematic senior non-commissioned officers of the legion, known as the “marshals of the Foreign Legion” because they hold the Legion of Honour. Together, they represent every operation from the end of the Algerian War to the present day.
I like this because it allows young legionnaires to see themselves in the leaders who commanded the operations they served in. Through his time as a lieutenant in the 2nd Foreign Parachute Regiment, then at the 13th Foreign Legion Demi-Brigade, and later in senior roles at the Ministry of the Armed Forces, General Burkhard was one of those leaders.
Seeing him march up that sacred path will symbolise all the operations we have carried out, with a thought for our comrades who died for France.
This interview was adapted from the original version in French by Franck Alexandre.