Want to Join the French Foreign Legion?

Ever wanted to join the military, start a new life, become a French Citizen, or all 3, well the French Foreign Legion is for you. (French Foreign Legion Website) 

The French Foreign Legion is a part of the French Army and was first established in 1831. The Legion was created for people of foreign nationalities could serve in the French military. In recent years many recruits have been coming from Latin America, but the Legion is open to French citizens as well and as of 2007 24% of the French Foreign Legion if made of up of French citizens.

Any male is allowed to join the French Foreign Legion regardless of their nationality, race, and religion to serve under the flag of France. When someone enlists into the Legion they can make up what nationality they are. For example an American can enlist and say he is Canadian, German, Chinese, or Brazilian, it does not matter to the Legion and they will accept whatever you tell them. Another example of this is as a result of World War 2 many former German Soldiers joined the Legion and listed under Swiss or Austrian nationality.

The French Foreign Legion until 2010 forced recruits to enlist under pseudonyms so that men could start new lives. Recruits can now enlist under real identities' and if a recruit uses a fake identity they can choose to switch back to their true identity after a year of service. This would be ideal for anyone who wants a reset or wants to get away from their past and on a side note this would make a great premise for a story. You can see it now, "The Legionnaires" follow the story of an American , a former Russian mobster, and a Chilean looking for a better life and trying to run from their past.

Joining the Legion is not only a good way to give yourself a new life, but also a good way to gain French citizenship. After serving 3 years in the Legion, servicemen can apply to become French citizens, but in order to apply they must be switched to their true identity and must have all issues cleared and taken care of with authorities. However you can become a French citizen another way under the rule "Français par le sang versé", which means French by spilled blood. This means if you are serving in the Legion and are wounded in a battle for France you can immediately apply to become a French citizen.

The idea of starting a new life can is very appealing for those who've had troubles, wanting to find their path without their past being a factor in it, finding a sense of honor, and the French Foreign Legion offers this chance for any man who wishes to be "reborn". The Legion is known for its ability to create strong team bonds, even though they face the challenge that the men come from different countries. From what I interpret from the French Foreign Legion is that it should not matter what nationality you are or what your pass was, but instead it should be what you can do now and how you can help a bigger community.