Interesting; I wonder how many had to fight in round 2 of the colonial wars (in Algeria from 1954 to 1962, with no American help). Many French veterans fought directly against Algerians they had fought alongside in Indochina.
They thought they’d hang on to Algeria by designating it a regular province of France itself, but still only had about 10% of the population actually French. When de Gaulle agreed to independence, army units revolted (to no avail). As they abandoned French civilians and Algerian troops who supported them (”Harkis”), many French officers ignored orders and evacuated some Algerians and their families, knowing they’d be subjected to reprisals (and plenty were).
Post-colonial Africa was a mess, and I sympathize with anyone who was duped (or who had ancestors who were duped) into settling those colonies. I believe they had a good life for generations, but in the end it was all left behind - whether the colony was French, British, Portuguese, Belgian - didn’t matter. Most left with little more than the clothes on their backs, and some left after losing loved ones trying to hold on in long, fruitless wars (French, Portugues, Rhodesian/British). France and Portugal in particular were hard pressed to accommodate the returning nationals, initially housing them in camps while trying to integrate them back into the home country’s economy.
I do know that the guys in that unit during the 80s loved fighting in Chad, and they were right wingers who hated François Mitterrand.
When hasn't Africa been a mess?