Kathmandu, March 3

Hundreds of Nepalis are serving as Foreign Legionnaire in the French Army and deployed to some of the toughest combat-missions in the world, though France has no such pact with Nepal.

The Government of Nepal has no record about them, as it has no pact with the Government of France regarding the enlisting of Nepali citizens’ in the French armed force.

The French Embassy in Kathmandu confirmed there was no bilateral accord between the two governments to recruit Nepalis in the French forces and was being done purely on individual basis, voluntarily. Nepal’s Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Tara Prasad Pokhrel also reiterated the same.

Thousands of Nepalis are serving in Indian and British armies for decades, but there are written agreements between Nepal and Indian and British governments for the same. The French mission couldn’t give the exact number of Nepalis serving in its army.

However, as per Nepal’s former ambassador to France Mohan Krishna Shrestha’s estimate 300 to 350 Nepalis are serving as French Foreign Legionnaires.

Foreign Legion is a special service branch of the French Army, which is unique because it was created for foreign nationals willing to serve in the French armed forces.

It is learnt that over 90,000 people from more than 140 countries are serving as Foreign Legionnaires and deployed to defend the French interests and protect French territories across the globe and mobilised in some anti-terror combat-missions, including in Afghanistan.

According to Shrestha, one interesting aspect of the foreign legionnaires is that their past is not checked or is simply ignored during their recruitment. Even people with criminal background can be commissioned.

“French Foreign Legion is known for tough selection procedure, difficult training and deployments in perilous missions,” Shrestha told The Himalayan Times.

It can be recalled that a Legionnaire, Lal Bahadur Khapangi, 26, from Kamala Mai Municipality of Sindhuli, had died in January due to an avalanche in the mountains of Val Frejus, France, in the course of a military training.

According to Shrestha, the legionnaires are recruited on individual basis and recruitment is done exclusively on French soil.

A 1998 movie called ‘Legionnaire’ has portrayed French Legion as one of the most dreaded mercenaries in the world, where fatal rates are quite high.

The French Embassy stated that they were not mercenaries but a part of the France’s national force, which is run under the Ministry of Defence.

A legionnaire can serve in the French Army from five to 15 years and can apply for the French nationality once they complete three years in the service.