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My experience

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Bonjour to all members of this forum,

I'd like to share with you my experience at Fort de Nogent Legion recruiting station, near Paris. I arrived on Sunday 27 May at 8 am at Beauvais-Tillé (~ 80 km NW of Paris) and I arrived at 11 am to the fort. After that,one legionnaire who was on guard took my passport and told me to wait in a room. I waited till 4 pm and after that I went with him to met the caporal-chef. He checked my luggage and gave my some money and my clothes... After that I took the pull-ups test (did 8) and went to our room. At the same time a guy from Moldova showed up. In my room I had guys from Nepal, French Polynesia (Tahiti), Russia, Moldova, Japan, Brazil, Ukraine, Senegal, Iceland, Colombia, Mexico. I was shocked to see so many different nationalities...

The schedule is pretty simple and clearly defined. Food is very good, but at petit-déjeuner (breakfast) there is little. One piece of bred with 5g of Nutella or some strawberry jam. From your first moment you will realize that they will be your new family and you need to accept that. I made some friends there but the one I liked most was the Colombian : a very nice guy, coming from a very poor country. He told me that Europe is heaven on earth and also in his country people are poor and is another reality, the harsh reality...

At that time we were 75 guys, some waiting for 2 weeks and still didn't do anything to pass further. I did the psychotechnical test (75 questions, mathematics, logic, 3d pictures, and things like that). An old caporal-chef asked for 4 volunteers and I accepted with 3 other guys. We had to prepare the grill and arrange the tables for guys from Marines corps who stayed there. We had a lot of fun, the caporal-chef gave us some t-shirts with emblem Légion étrangère, wine, bbq and food for free as a reward. Such a great man!!

After I had the medical test with the colonel. No problem with my scars. In that days I also had the sports test: level 10 at Luc-Léger and 13 or more pull-ups. The pull-ups need to be executed in perfect form to the chest not only chin above bar... Only 3 guys were eliminated in the sports test. After some days, from the 75 guys we remained only 20. 15 went to Aubagne for further tests and maybe for instruction but the other ones didn't pass the medical or sports test. The colonel was very strict any little problem you had : go home to hospital.

I noticed also that you learn French very quickly there. We ve had a mini footbal table game where we could play in our free time... What do you do most of a time? You f*ck wait, all day long, some days 10 or more hours up standing... A lot of guys were sick and by coughing they gave me some virus.

I had a serious throat infection that didn't allow me to breath properly. I didn't sleep for 2-3 days until I told the caporal-chef that I had a problem and requested some drugs, but he refused and then I asked him to let me go to the hospital to get some antibiotics. But he refused and for God's sake I considered that it was better to come back when are not so many guys. It was a great experience and a lesson for me.

What is the ideal candidate? Somebody who has nothing to lose, who is ready to serve France for 5 years or more, very healthy and in good physical condition. If you have some question I will be more than happy to answer...

I will go back in 6 months in winter more precisely!!
 

SnafuSmite

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Tough luck mate, so it was your throat infection that bust you out. Thanks for the post. Do you think you'd rather go straight to Aubagne next time or back to Paris? Cheers
 
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Yes, I will go to Aubagne next time, to avoid losing time in Paris. But if you can wait for 2-3 for weeks and you can go to Paris, you have food, clothes, a bed, all you need. You are not paid there, only in Aubagne.
 

SnafuSmite

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Thanks again for posting, always good when we can get the lastest on whats happening.
 
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Marius77,

Bad luck but good effort. I am not surprised that you caught a virus with so many people from various locations being in close proximity,

In my opinion the Chef did not exercise good judgement. He should have assessed the situation and acted accordingly.

Good luck in the winter and hopefully it will be germ free and there will be fewer applicants.
 
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Thank you Chas , i was disappointed because I had a very good relation with my comrades... But this is the life 😁
 

Rapace

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(...) Yes, I will go to Aubagne next time, to avoid losing time in Paris. But if you can wait for 2-3 for weeks and you can go to Paris, you have food, clothes, a bed, all you need. You are not paid there, only in Aubagne.
Are you sure of this? So, that means that you received no money for the time you spent at Fort de Nogent? That's an important piece of information since, in the pros and cons of joining in Paris vs going directly to Aubagne, the common knowledge was that joining in Paris (Fort de Nogent) takes more time, but also grants your more money as the pay starts from the day you enter a Legion recruiting facility.
Otherwise, thanks for sharing the experience. Can you tell us a bit more about yourself : age, country of origin, etc. ?
 

Le petit caporal

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Sorry to hear of your mis-hap, Marius
What can i say. .c'est la vie !
Infection of some sort,obvisouly
Did you have swollen throat glands ?
Reminder for wannabes (the ones who attempt)
Wash/scrub your hands at evry occasion given
Avoid people who cougth or sneeze,if you can,at least turn your back from the direction the germs are blowing
Avoid shaking hands. A stupid pointless gesture that can only bring you no well. ..gastro etc
Keep your mouth shut. ..= less acces for germs
You are there to make the grade and nowt else is more important ...the rest is secondary
While laid up at FdN. ..no tugging your meat. ..it will make you léthargique ! You have tests to do
Did you do corvées?
You were not paid. ..blame Manu Ciao
 

jonny

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And always keep your mouth shut. LOL

Nah, if somebody bothers you, smack him on the nose. That will teach him to sneeze in your face.. Worked fine for me.
 
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Are you sure of this? So, that means that you received no money for the time you spent at Fort de Nogent? That's an important piece of information since, in the pros and cons of joining in Paris vs going directly to Aubagne, the common knowledge was that joining in Paris (Fort de Nogent) takes more time, but also grants your more money as the pay starts from the day you enter a Legion recruiting facility.
Otherwise, thanks for sharing the experience. Can you tell us a bit more about yourself : age, country of origin, etc. ?
Yes, you are right. No one gets paid in Paris.
I’m 18 year-old, from Romania.
 
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Sorry to hear of your mis-hap, Marius
What can i say. .c'est la vie !
Infection of some sort,obvisouly
Did you have swollen throat glands ?
Reminder for wannabes (the ones who attempt)
Wash/scrub your hands at evry occasion given
Avoid people who cougth or sneeze,if you can,at least turn your back from the direction the germs are blowing
Avoid shaking hands. A stupid pointless gesture that can only bring you no well. ..gastro etc
Keep your mouth shut. ..= less acces for germs
You are there to make the grade and nowt else is more important ...the rest is secondary
While laid up at FdN. ..no tugging your meat. ..it will make you léthargique ! You have tests to do
Did you do corvées?
You were not paid. ..blame Manu Ciao
once per week , all guys from a room cleen the bathroom and coridor, and everyday 5 guys were sent to kitchen
i tried to stay away from sick ones but unfortunately shit happens
edit : of course caporal
 

Le petit caporal

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Cleaning your room and washing up after dinner. ..you do that at home and dosent, imo, enter in the catégorie of corvée. .!but i see what you mean
 

Le petit caporal

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Can you explain some more details, like wake up hr and lights out etc
Do any sport or activitys to keep you's occupied (probally not = in case of injury the légion would be held liable)

Before your next attempt. ..learn more french (even if you do not try again, it will do you no harm)
 
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yes sure every day we had inspection at 5:30 , and at evening at 8:30 i think
we had free time after lunch and dinner for 1-2 hours , thats only when chef was in a good mood
it was prohibited to run , but we had near the foayer du legionnaire a machine for pull ups push ups sit ups , only that was allowed for us to use..
 
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no you misunderstood, we had free time only if he wants
like after lunch he said you have one hour free and after you come upstairs
 

Le petit caporal

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It was a joke Marius. ..anciens understand
Best time to invade France is between 12 h and 14 h, btw
 
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