After missions fighting for the French Foreign Legion in the Central African Republic, Djibouti and Cameroon, the sapper Benjamin Coureu has settled into a more peaceful vocation: managing the production of pastis.
“The life of a soldier,” he said with a smile, grabbing a bunch of fennel out of the dry Provençal ground.
The Foreign Legion, an elite force whose men have fought in Afghanistan, Mali and the Central African Republic this century, is unique among army corps not only for accepting men from any country, but for how it looks after them when they retire. With no help from the state, it offers a roof over the head of any ex-legionnaire who needs one.
