Frenchmen are forbidden to join the Legion, but some enlist by giving false nationalities. Men who apply for duty in the Legion must be between 18 and 40 years old. They must pass a strict physical examination to be accepted. Legionnaires enlist for five years. The Legion does not make its records public, and an atmosphere of mystery, exaggeration, and glamor surrounds it.
Some men join to escape political punishment, and others to seek adventure.
Still others join to avoid punishment for crime. But the Foreign Legion accepts no known criminals, and the number of criminals in the unit has been exaggerated in fictional accounts. Doctors, lawyers, merchants, and priests have served in the Legion. Whatever their reasons for joining the force, the Legionnaires rank among the best soldiers in the world. Discipline in the Legion is harsh.