If you notice any errors in the translations, remember:
"In the Legion, of the 144 languages, there is only one language: understanding each other."
About Legion'Arts
The French Foreign Legion and Art
By Louis Perez y Cid
For over two centuries, military painting and sculpture have occupied a unique place in French artistic creation. Masters such as Horace Vernet (1789-1863), Édouard Detaille (1848-1912), and Alphonse de Neuville (1835-1885) shaped a true visual tradition where historical realism, the exaltation of courage, and the memory of battles intertwine. This lineage of artists gave rise to a powerful, often monumental, iconography that tells the story of both the evolution of the French army and the spirit of those who serve it.
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Views of the Elders
Urban Desertion: Chronicle of a National Weariness
This article was born from a departure, a breakup, but also from a clear-eyed look at a country beset by tensions, misunderstandings, and profound transformations. It is neither an indictment nor a manifesto, but rather the testimony of my friend Christian, who seeks to understand what he sees before him: a France that is changing faster than those who live there. Between weariness, anger, nostalgia, and a desire for peace, these lines recount an inner journey, that of a citizen drawn to the silence of the countryside after the tumult of the cities.
Louis Perez y Cid
“I thought my disgust with the world had reached its peak, but it has only grown. I can no longer even glance at the newspapers.” The stupidity, the cowardice, the malice on display make me wish for a new flood to engulf all these mediocre scoundrels. Only wild plants, mountains, the sky, and clouds are good.”
Alexandra David-Néel.
By Christian Morisot
For me, a new horizon is opening up after leaving Paris and its suburbs in the “93” (the infamous 93), where there are no problems for those who don’t live there… In fact, I hope to feel a little more at home in France. Here, the minds of young people, lacking direction, are too easily swayed by a pervasive discourse of hatred for the country where they live and where, for the vast majority of them, they were born. Read more...
Reflections
France as Heritage
These few pages are a reflection born on the parade ground in Aubagne, at the very moment when young legionnaires were receiving their naturalization certificates. Watching them become French, a question arose for Christian: what does France truly mean to those who join it by choice? This text is an attempt at an answer, nourished by experience, memory, and a deep attachment to the republican motto that guides our country.
But this emotion takes on a particular meaning when experienced within the Foreign Legion. For the Legion is not merely a military formation; it is a place of rebirth, of transcendence, of tangible brotherhood, where men from all over the world learn a language, a spirit, a shared discipline. For some, it even becomes the path to a new homeland. It is to these men, to these new compatriots who have already served France even before receiving their official documents, that these lines are addressed. They want to celebrate their commitment, to recall the strength of the bond that unites the Legion to the Nation, and to convey what it truly means to inherit France: a history, values, an ideal, but also a duty of fraternity, loyalty, and solidarity, which have always been at the heart of the Legion.
Louis Perez y Cid
By Christian Morisot.
Fleetingly, the evening light envelops the parade ground of the Viénot barracks in Aubagne in a dark mass. A very special event was taking place: a group of young legionnaires were being presented by local elected officials with a certificate confirming their French naturalization. Pleasantly charmed by the unexpected nature of these young men's commitment, a question came to mind: "What could France possibly represent for them? What image and opinion might they have of the history of their new country?" I impulsively felt frustrated at not being able to speak to them, not to lecture them, but simply to tell them what France represents for many of the former legionnaires who, long before their voluntary act, had also chosen to become French. Read more...
Facts
Classroom Lessons 3/4
The Fair Classroom
A few weeks later, the teacher proposed a third model.
“We’re going to try a fairer system. Merit will count, but so will solidarity.” The students looked at each other, intrigued.
“Your grades,” he explained, “will depend half on your personal effort and half on the class average. You’re all connected, just like in real life.”
On the first test, everyone worked together, helping each other, discussing, and reviewing as a group. Marie explained, Lucas persevered, and Tom finally listened.
The average rose to 14.
On the second test, some students slacked off, and the average dropped to 10.
But instead of complaining, the class reacted.
They organized themselves, supported each other, and bonded.
Little by little, everyone found their place. Read more...
Literary Explorations
Alexandra David-Néel
“To be fiercely opposed to any leveling down.”
Our friend is indulging himself today, venturing into the philosophical realms he so loves, by evoking and sharing with us the reflections of Alexandra David-Néel… who, known as Alexandra, was actually named Alexandrine. A writer and explorer, a renowned orientalist, this woman led an absolutely extraordinary life. Born in Saint-Mandé, she died in Digne, but between these two cities she traveled extensively throughout the Far East, where she was a leading authority. What an extraordinary destiny for someone who, initially, was named Alexandrine… a sort of verse with two sets of six syllables… in the feminine form…
Antoine Marquet
By Christian Morisot
Alexandra David-Néel said: “The greatest service one could render to a human being was to make them intelligent. Helping people rise up didn't mean giving them money, but culture, a well-formed mind. Giving money to a fool is useless; they don't know how to spend it. The rich shouldn't fall down the social ladder, but it was the poor who should rise. One must be fiercely opposed to any leveling down.”
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Our friend is indulging himself today, venturing into the philosophical realms he so loves, by evoking and sharing with us the reflections of Alexandra David-Néel… who, known as Alexandra, was actually named Alexandrine. A writer and explorer, a renowned orientalist, this woman led an absolutely extraordinary life. Born in Saint-Mandé, she died in Digne, but between these two cities she traveled extensively throughout the Far East, where she was a leading authority. What an extraordinary destiny for someone who, initially, was named Alexandrine… a sort of verse with two sets of six syllables… in the feminine form…
Antoine Marquet
By Christian Morisot
Alexandra David-Néel said: “The greatest service one could render to a human being was to make them intelligent. Helping people rise up didn't mean giving them money, but culture, a well-formed mind. Giving money to a fool is useless; they don't know how to spend it. The rich shouldn't fall down the social ladder, but it was the poor who should rise. One must be fiercely opposed to any leveling down.”
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All this is happening above our heads
What if we were talking about Mars…in December?
Mars in the human imagination.
How many novels and films have depicted the invasion of Earth by these creatures from elsewhere, from our galaxy or even further afield?
Aboard flying saucers, their movements sometimes shrill, sometimes perfectly still, depending on the witness, equipped with extravagant lights, they come to spy on us, mainly at night, provoking insurmountable anxieties and psychedelic episodes in some humans.
Certainly, they differ from us physically. The authors' imaginations know no bounds. Slanted eyes, missing fingers, including a small one that remains raised, a language supposedly understandable by humans.
And in the majority of these works, one constant remains: they come from Mars. The little green men are after our planet.
When we invite people to look at the Moon through telescopes at our parties, it's not uncommon, far from it, to hear some ask: "Can we see the Martians?" It just goes to show, they're everywhere.
How did they come into being? What does Mars represent? Is it comparable to ours? And when will we see humans on Mars?
Let's try to answer these questions. Read more...
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WHO WE ARE
Légion’Arts is an independent publishing house created by former legionnaire artists: preserving and sharing the memory of the Foreign Legion through authentic, human, and inspiring works. Every legionnaire has a voice. With Légion’Arts, these stories become a collective memory, accessible to all.