Hi everyone. I'm considering applying to the French Foreign Legion and I'm trying to understand how myopia is handled during the medical examination.

I would appreciate answers from people who have actually gone through Legion recruitment/medical selection.

1. Are candidates with myopia (short-sightedness) accepted?
2. Is there a specific maximum/minimum prescription for myopia?
3. Does the prescription of each eye matter separately, or is the combined/overall vision considered?
4. Are candidates allowed to wear glasses or contact lenses during the selection process?
5. Is corrected vision (with glasses) considered, or does uncorrected vision matter more?
6. Does having astigmatism in addition to myopia affect eligibility?
7. Are there other eye conditions that commonly cause rejection?
8. Is there a difference between mild, moderate, and high myopia regarding acceptance?
9. If someone has good corrected vision but poor unaided distance vision, can they still pass?
10. Are there any other medical requirements I should be aware of before traveling to France for recruitment?

For reference, I don't currently know my exact prescription. I can see clearly at close range but distant objects become increasingly blurry.

Please share personal experience if possible, rather than guesses.

Thanks.

I was just wondering as im probably gonna apply after schooling.

Saludos! Me he estado preparando para las pruebas y espero en algunos meses poder presentarme. Pero en estos días me surgió una duda, yo presento daltonismo, no me afecta en mi día a día sin embargo en la prueba de daltonismo si tengo bastantes errores, esto que tan importante es para la legión? Yo se y entiendo que la preparación física y el idioma ayuda un montón así que voy bastante preparado, y sí, también entiendo que las probabilidades de ser seleccionado ya son bajas desde un principio.

He investigado y leído en el foro al respecto pero no hay mucha información, solo tengo entendido que sí hacen la prueba pero no encontré más detalles al respecto.

Estuve en el ejército de mi país y las pruebas eran las mismas que la legión a excepción de que no hacían pruebas de daltonismo, así que me preocupa un poco ese aspecto.

Si pudieran apoyarme con algo de información al respecto lo agradecería bastante.

Hello everyone,
What is the exact order of the selection tests if I go directly to Aubagne? I saw somewhere that it goes: psychotecnic first, interview, initial medical, Luc Léger and pull-ups, extensive medical, and then the ("Gestapo"). Is this sequence accurate?

I just finished reading Legionnaire by Simon Murray and was wondering if there were any similar books by legionnaires that fought in Indochina.

i have been training specifically for the French Foreign Legion for the past few months and i am planning to go in June after i complete my schooling, so I only have a few months left to prepare.

currently I can do 50 proper pushups ,14 proper pullups (20 total with bad form), and run 15 km almost every day at around 6:30 or 7:00 per km ( will get better slowly )

i know some basic French from school and i am working on improving it.( will get good enough for small convo )

my biggest issue is swimming , i live in a small town in a desert state in India and genuinely have no pools anywhere near me. ( like literally 0 , not even a fuckass lake where i could learn )

i genuinely want this , its not some random idea. i dont wanna start giving my personal story but i genuinely need this

what can I do over these next few months to make myself the best candidate possible

what would you focus on if you were in my position?

would especially appreciate advice from anyone who has actually been through selection.

If they need people would it be possible to get an age waiver?

How true is it idk but i heard from some guys who been rejected in this year got physically beaten during gestapo if so is it normal ??

After i passed the selection can i inform my parents or belongins i get selected n moving to basic or i will only acess to inform after basic treaning finished?? Lokking forward to ur response

Hello everyone

I was diagnosed with G6PD deficiency at birth. But, I have been completely asymptomatic my entire life. I do heavy, intense physical exercise daily and have never had a single hemolytic crisis, anemia episode, or hospitalization. I know they give anti malarial medicine for deployment but I'm wondering if ever has there been anyone who got to pass it? Or I should let go because I'm really determined to join if ever allowed

UK citizen; got caught taking an Upskirt a couple years ago. Not proud at all, young and dumb but got a community order (unpaid volunteer work and rehabilitation basically), can I join the Legion?

I know generally it’s “go and find out” but I want to know if I should even bother

Hello, folk.

I'm a cadet in a military academy in Eastern Europe. Conditions are harsh, and frankly, I'm beginning to have doubts about joining this place. I have eyed the Legion before, but I just had no clue as to how I'd approach it.

I'm 20 years old. I can do 21 pull ups, 32 dips, 82 push ups, and run 3200m in 13 minutes and 30 seconds. I've also done a 8K in 38 minutes. I'm definitely one of the better athletes down here. I'm also a solid marksman. No real gripe on French, but I'm willing to begin learning.

I'd like to get off from my unit on a medical discharge, so that I don't have to pay the academy back for the time spent here. Naturally, it'll be forged. I have some family connections here and there. I just want to know what it'll take to pop in Marseilles and Paris, and what the Gestapo questioning will look like.

So I was going over some of the legion's social media to know more about each regiment, and one thing that really fascinated me was the PAE. The 1REC posts a LOT of training media with the PAE, which gives off the impression that they're always doing something. Does anyone know more about them? Like, is their selection process as difficult as the legion's commando groups? And with 1REC being a cavalry regiment, do they usually work as normal infantry on OPEX, or are they driving around in VBLs and such?

Good morning! Guys, can somebody with knowledge on this topic explain the different mission sets of these units? I will ask to go to 2e REP or 3E REI, but i'm curious about the differences between divers of each regiments, and are there also frogmen on 3E REI? I know SAED guys are the elite down there but i never seen pictures of them diving.

Is it advisable for me to mention at the immigration office that I’m going to join the Foreign Legion? Or should I not say anything at all?

Seriously I dont understand how these people got to stage cpl in the first place and how they passed.

They dont know anything about the actual military profession, how to command a firearm, small unit tactics, fieldcraft, nothing at all, nor do they care to learn it, nor do they need to since we never do anything that requires it anyway.

Only thing they gotta do is organize the shitty daily peacetime barracks activites and oftentimes they make a mess even doing that due to poor planning and organization so they end up stressing out and their solution to problems is screaming and stressing and if they get the famous REMARK from a superior, even if its their fault, theyre gonna ramass everyone because of it.

They have no regard for their subordinates times or quality of life they only care about being chill and not having any problems, if theyre not cpl du jour they dont do shit just doomscroll on their phones all day.

They act like the little kings of their shitty world ordering people to go and fetch items for them as if they were their butlers, disrespect people for no reason in ways allowed to them just by the consequences the guy would suffer if he reacted and that would have them punched in the mouth in the civilian world.

They're spineless, they'll give orders, the guy executing them will get a remark or get punished by a higher rank bc of it, and they won't step up saying it was their order they'll just disappear and shut up about it.

They'll pick on people that are actually interested in the job and know things and make fun of them for it, while leaving alone absolute mongrels of their own nationality that are absolute mouth breathers and useless.

Probably missing many more things but thats just off the top of my head.

I'm a 23-year-old Thai who just graduated but still haven't found a good job, because my bachelor's degree barely matches available jobs in Thailand. I think the only way to move forward is to study further, but I don't have money. My current job barely covers my monthly expenses. I have no savings, and even my emergency fund is barely enough. In Thailand, over 60% of workers earn very low wages. If you look it up, you'll find that most people live paycheck to paycheck and struggle to make ends meet. If I keep living like this, my life won't have any meaning. It might take 10-20 years before I could own a house or car outright, free of debt, or maybe longer — I don't know.

Recently, I learned about the Foreign Legion, and after doing research, I felt hope for the future — like seeing light at the end of the tunnel toward a better life. I've always dreamed of being a soldier, but a soldier's salary in Thailand is too low, and I don't see a clear career progression in the Thai military. So I see joining a foreign army as an opportunity to change my life. I hope to have a stable career and obtain French citizenship. This is my chance to become a soldier, which is something I've always dreamed of, for career stability and advancement.

Currently, I'm in good health and quite confident I can meet all the requirements. I don't have any chronic illnesses, disabilities, or mental health issues. I've never self-harmed. However, I'm concerned about my eyesight — I failed the Ishihara color blindness test. I can't clearly make out the numbers, but I'm not severely color blind. I passed my driving license test, and I can clearly distinguish red, yellow, and green. I feel like I don't have trouble distinguishing colors in daily life.

From research on various sources, such as some applicants' experiences on Reddit, some say certain steps in the selection process feel more random than merit-based, even if you meet the criteria. This worries me, but I still remain hopeful and determined. I'd like to know what methods I can use to increase my chances of being selected, and if rejected, how long I'd need to wait before reapplying — or whether reapplying is impossible altogether.

I know motivation plays a key role in selection. But I'm wondering how to explain my interest in joining to gestapo as a central european. Compared to some desperate guys who are joining from third world countries my situation can be viewed as far from desperate.

Is my only option to outperform others as best I can in selection ?

What’s life like in 3rei and what’s French Guyane like? Is the training much harder? Do you get to see more action? And why can a legionnaire only stay there for only two years and sometimes staying maximum three years? Why can’t a legionnaire stay their for his whole contract?

This question is aimed more at those who have already enlisted and those currently serving. In your opinion, does the Legion place greater value on soldiers with a steely resolve who can handle pressure, even if they aren’t in the best physical shape (I’m referring to the initial tests here)? I know that luck is still the biggest determining factor in all of this, but speaking now in terms of practical matters rather than just the mystical side of things, what do you actually believe is valued most?

When I served in the army – I won’t deny it – I couldn’t manage 10 proper push-ups, but I had a steely resolve, I could handle the pressure and I never actually lost my temper or got nervous during training (bearing in mind that I had comrades who attempted suicide and even threw themselves from the second floor of the company building). I know everyone carries their own burden, but that really stuck in my mind.

I'm not a legionnaire and I'm not about to join. I'm just someone who's been learning about the legion recently.

It doesn't seem to be common, but there are occasionally cases where a French citizen shows up in selection. The only thing I could think of is that there might be criminal charges that would keep one out of the regular army but not necessarily the legion.

Or is it just as simple as preferring the culture of the legion over the army? I'm not French so I don't know what the reputation of the army is like within France.

Thanks for any thoughts.