Free Republic

AUBAGNE, France -- The Foreign Legion isn't what it used to be. Killers on the lam are no longer welcome, and unhappy recruits have a year to back out without being branded deserters. These days a bigger issue faces the 175-year-old force that made its name fighting France's overseas battles in jungle and desert. Its primary mission -- to be a crack professional force of non-French volunteers available for instant, no-questions-asked deployment in far-flung conflicts -- has all but evaporated.

First French Troops Surrender In Haiti - March 1st 2004 After spending at least five minutes in action in Haiti, it has been reported that the first group of French troops have surrendered, when an elderly local woman approached them in an “almost menacing manner.” It is believed they are currently being held hostage, having to endure stories about how much life was better in the old days, and being force fed home cooked cakes. The French Government has so far been unable to contact the woman holding their troops, but insists it will use only their bravest diplomats to...