By Louis Perez y Cid
The traditions of the French Foreign Legion are an integral part of its heritage and culture. Forged empirically, they guarantee its identity and unity, and remain an essential factor in its integration and cohesion.

Some are very old and originate from customs predating the creation of the Foreign Legion (1831). Others are more recent; their adoption proves the Legion's ability to adapt to the times and demonstrates that these traditions are not static but are meant to evolve.

They nevertheless rest on a few immutable foundations that constitute their basis and contribute to ensuring their continuity.

The Four Fundamental Pillars.
Daily life, training, and operations are guided by four principles:

• The sacred nature of the mission.
• Rigor in execution.
• Solidarity.
• The veneration of remembrance.

A specific motto.

One of the first letters from my garden:

"I wish to share a thought that came to me following the reactions of certain 'guardians of the temple' regarding a form of neutrality we should display in our writing, so as not to provoke the wrath of political leaders against our Institution… Even though I know that the articles published on the FSALE website are only read by a small number of 'visitors' who are presumably sympathetic; it is sometimes good to allow the expression of a personal feeling, a point of view, an anecdote, or even a reaction, and thus avoid any naiveté that would label us as 'sheep following the crowd'."

The article in question is by our fellow legionnaire, Captain Jean-Marie Dieuze, who shared a letter addressed to his children and grandchildren: "So that you don't become afraid too soon," which I offer for your reading below:
So that you don't become afraid too soon…
"My dear children,
My dearest grandchildren,
I am writing to you because you asked me a question that has haunted me ever since:

"Should we be afraid that there will soon be a third world war?"
I didn't know what to say at first. I understood, searching for my words like one searches for footsteps on a starless and moonless night, that this question wasn't just about a war that some seem almost to be hoping for.
It was saying something else, something deeper, perhaps more cruel: it was asking a father and a grandfather why he no longer knew—or hadn't been able—to protect his family in this world gone mad. Read more...

Modern conflicts are no longer fought solely on the battlefield. They are also waged in the minds of populations, through information, disinformation, and the manipulation of perceptions.
For us, former legionnaires, familiar with the classic and asymmetric forms of engagement, this text helps us understand these new battlefields facing our army.

The following text offers a clear and accessible overview of the mechanisms of contemporary information warfare, as analyzed by leading figures in the Ministry of the Armed Forces. It sheds light on adversary strategies, their tools, and possible responses to preserve the cohesion, clarity, and resilience of democratic societies.
Louis Perez y Cid

By the Directorate: Ministry of the Armed Forces / Published on January 28, 2026

Information manipulation is now a field of confrontation in its own right, on par with land, sea, air, cyber, or space. Unstable and rapidly evolving, this field is characterized by the constant obsolescence of methods and responses.

For Colonel Bertrand, commanding officer of the Joint Center for Environmental Actions (CIAE), the current foundations of information warfare date back to the 2015-2016 period, marked by the rise of social media and the fight against ISIS propaganda. Read more...

Some images come and go, while others take root.
Innocent titles, and titles that work in silence.

The nobility of service.
It's beautiful. It's clean. It sounds good under the kepis and in the drawing rooms.

And on the cover of a diary, a familiar figure, a legionnaire. Well… almost.
On a crowned head, a royal beard. Perfect superimposition. The soldier and the king become one. A graphic coincidence, no doubt. Chance sometimes has a great deal of imagination.

Let's add to that Camerone 2026, which, it is said, is placed under the sign of the princely family of Monaco, one of whose ancestors served in the Legion. Here again, nothing to criticize, the story is accurate, respectable, even elegant. The Legion never forgets those who have worn its colors. And rightly so.

But the lucid madman has a flaw: he observes alignments, symbols, resonances.
A legionnaire serving a king. Service associated with nobility.

A princely family summoned into the narrative. Read more...

By Louis Perez y Cid
“Daddy, Why Are You Leaving?” was a book for children. For those who wait. For those who experience absence without always having the words to express it. It gave a voice to a silent pain, seen from a child’s perspective.

With Valiant Women, the focus now turns to those who remain. The wives and partners of legionnaires. Those who bear the burden of waiting every day, who keep the home going, who learn to live with distance, worry, and hope. This book is theirs, a testament to strength, courage, and resilience, to make visible those who, in the shadows, watch over them.

Maylis Lardet and Marie-Laure Vincensini have written a book that is as necessary as it is profoundly human. The first book entirely devoted to the wives and partners of legionnaires, it fills a long-standing silence surrounding those who experience the Legion from within, without a uniform, but with remarkable resilience. Read more...