That's one the tales told of him. The 14th July salute is as follows: Georgina Dufoix, the French Public Health Minister told François:
“Vous légionnaires, vous êtes tous que des grandes gueules†(You legionnaires are all mouth). He took exception to this and replied:
“Madame le Ministre, lorsque je serai en face de la tribune, je ne dirai rien mais je vous ferai signe !!†So, his salute to his heart in the downward movement became controversial. Some speculated it was a masonic salute but he wasn't.
Ten years later, I clarified this Lt.-Col Dufour, François's 2IC. He said that François had been approached by Germanos to be a freemason which he refused as a Catholic in his ‘broad interpretation’. Janvier, another freemason general, ganged up on Soubirou, another Catholic, and 2e REP OPs officer to deny him of the command of the 2e REP. Soubirou was devastated and was left to command the 2e REI as his poor second choice. He prepped the regiment for its participation on ‘Operation Desert Storm’ and handed a gleaming regiment to Derville to command it and get automatically a general's rank....
?...
Anyway, after this ‘unfortunate impulse’ bordering on ‘exhuberance’ by François, it was Serge Gainsbourg who understood the entire event and the «alternatif affirmative» of his mindset, befriended François in the post-parade drinks at the Elysée Palace and introduced him to Pres Mitterand as his
“bon amiâ€... He cracked jokes between them and the president came to understand François and joked with him. The event went unnoticed in any disciplinary action.
This is why François, a year or so later, invited Serge G. – on his own initiative without consulting anyone else outside the regiment – to Nîmes after Serge had been roughed up and manhandled by Repmen for his reggae version of the national anthem
“La Marseillaiseâ€. After all, he had his home landline number before the cellphone era. So, François rang Serge who accepted his invite on the regimental Cameron celebrations in 1985, if my recollection serves me right.
The 2e REP complained about François but the 2e REI captured the public imagination when TF1 showed up and the national limelight for a few media minutes. François action conciliated the Foreign Legion with one of France's cultural and singing icons at a stroke. “On se fait la bise†said Serge on arrival and I was there like so many other legionnaires crowding around the two !!!!
Some said that François would have been a gangster had not been for the FFL. Anyway, I slept easy in the regiment when he was around 'cause he didn't need rank slides to command the entire regiment besides being the meanest allure. He also forced the entire regiment to pay for Tapanard 1 if you were there with legionniares paying 10 francs and 20 for sous-officiers. Officers must have paid 50 francs or more. He introduced the mule on regimental parade as the main mascot "who would die of liver failure in due course"....That kinda guy...neither died
of Kidney failure...
Lecerf was of the same ilk mit 'gloves actions on' but he managed automatic general rank for his prominent command role on colocation on Mount Igman overlooking Sarajevo with the 33rd Royal Artillery Regiment and Devonshire & Dorset regiment in 1995-1996. The two UK COs were awarded with the
'Légionnaire de 1ère classe' on that occasion... I went down to the former regiment on invitation and came across Lecerf and Soubirou shook hands with both but not with Derville... I'll leave there.
RIP François in legionnaire Valhalla.
Best
Z.
PS Incoming PM.