Stuff You Should Know - Do People Really Run Off to Join the French Foreign Legion?

Episode Date: March 8, 2013

Anyone who knows anything about Jean-Claude Van Damme knows he played a French legionnaire in the movies. He was just one of many actors to star in films that romanticized this mercenary force. Check out the details in this episode with Josh and Chuck. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The war on drugs is the excuse our government uses to get away with absolutely insane stuff stuff that'll piss you off The cops are they just like looting? Have they just like pillaging they just have way better names for what they call like what we would call a jack move or be in Rob they call civil acid Be sure to listen to the war on drugs on the iHeart radio app apple podcast or wherever you get your podcast I'm Langston Kermit. Sometimes I'm on TV. I'm David boring. I'm probably on TV right now David and I are going to take a deep dive every week into the most exciting groundbreaking and sometimes problematic black conspiracy theories We've had amazing past notable guests like Brandon Kyle Goodman Sam J. Quinta Brunson and so many more

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If you really like our TV show and you want to see more stuff like behind the scenes clips videos Read blogs from characters go to stuff. You should know calm our website and just click on the TV show tab Yeah, and if you're one of those people that says hey, this shows really grown on me Why don't you go to the science channel Facebook page and make a little noise? Yeah, keep these guys around we enjoyed it sure Couldn't hurt right I don't think so unless science channel sends guys to your house for commenting on their Facebook No, they welcome that. Yeah. All right podcast. Let's do it. Hey and welcome to the podcast I'm Josh Clark and there's Charles W. Chuck Bryant, which makes this stuff. You should know the lightning quick edition Is this lightning quick?

Yes, because of the lightning. Oh Yeah, we have a like tornadoes and stuff coming in so it's like Holding out of the okay corral as the storm rolls in right well We'd also like to get out of the okay corral before the storm Yeah, that's the point. Yeah, you're saying there's a tornado flipping cars on like 75 up north apparently And I know my dog Buckley is at home just waiting to pee all over the place once the Thunder starts So if I can be there and hold him he's fine the French for and Legion Chuck Um, they are a fighting force a military fighting force that one young man

By the name of Jean-Claude Van Damme ran off and joined did he really in the movies? Oh I got you. It totally got me. I was like I never knew can you imagine? No, he was it was in the movies. He wasn't really a legionaire. It's a bummer. What movie was it? I think Legion Was a movie called Legion or Legionaire I've never heard of it. But yeah, he's a he's a legionaire I'm not a big fan of his actually you can tell well, you know I don't know that there are that many like big fans, but I'll bet his big fans are like like big-time John Claude Van Damme Oh, yes, I'm like Steven Seagal's fans probably. Yeah, probably so just a hardcore. Yeah

But you could tell that John Claude Van Damme was in this movie because he's wearing a hat with a little cape in the back Yeah, the capey is that what it's called. Yeah spelled K E P I pronounced capey and they still wear those and You know, it's a tradition that is still true today the little flat cap Very stiff and rigid. Yeah, and they don't always have the capes, you know when they're out where they need them They will well the reason that they would have them is because for the better part of Two centuries the French foreign Legion was stationed in Algeria. Yeah And the reason they were stationed there is because that's where their headquarters were almost from the moment of inception of this This military group. Yeah, and the reason they were stationed there from inception was because they were a bunch of

Nairduel criminals. Yeah in many cases. Yeah, and so they're like, you know, you guys are great and you're super tough Let's move you to Algeria. Yeah to help our colonization efforts and get you out of France Do you want to talk about the history first? Yeah. Well today, let's talk about today just for one sec They're over there are seven thousand two hundred and eighty six Legionnaires as of December of last year of two twenty twelve and To the date to the date To this date, uh-huh thirty five thousand have died in battle over the years I saw that which is not that bad, but it's a small group, you know, seven thousand isn't much right and they they are the

Fighting force in the world that has seen more continuous action than any other. Oh, really? Yeah, they fight constantly They've been fighting constantly. Well, and they're bad dudes. Yeah, like they're They even say in this article and they're well known to be much tougher than the regular French army, right? Because they're not French Actually, I don't know much that has to do with it, but they're known for being tough dudes Yeah, and they're also a Special forces unit. Yeah, basically No women when we say dudes we can say dudes. Yeah, there's never been a French foreign legionnaire who is a woman. No

and They are they've been in just about every conflict That the French have been in yeah, since 1830 And did you know that the French foreign legion invaded Mexico in 1861 and stayed there till 1865 when they're finally beaten back No, I didn't know that. Yeah, they tried to assassinate the president and install in Austrian prints They Maximilian as the ruler of Mexico has set it up as a French puppet state I wonder if that had any influence on culinary speaking. I Don't know I don't you don't see much French stuff pop up in Mexico like you do in like Vietnam during that colonial period

You know or Indochine Yeah, you love movies or maybe Justin need us some recommendations on what new movies to watch next time you sit down in front of the TV Well, I have the podcast for you Hey, this is Mike D for Movie Mike's movie podcast your go-to source for all things movies and no matter the genre what you're into Whether it be comedies romance action sci-fi horror superhero movies. I cover it all. I'm no critic I'm just a guy who loves movies each episode explores a different movie topic plus spoiler-free reviews on the latest new movies in theaters and On streaming and yes, they're always spoiler free So you don't have to worry about anything getting ruined for you plus interviews with actors directors and writers covering the behind-the-scenes of your favorite movies

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Was in love with a lifestyle on the freedom this community. No one understands who we truly are The rails made me question everything I knew about motherhood history and the thing we call the American dream It's the last vestige of American freedom Everything about it is extreme You're either going to die or you could have this incredible rebirth and really understand who you are Come with me to find out what waits for us in the city of the rails Listen to city of the rails on the iHeart radio app apple podcast or wherever you get your podcasts or cityoftherails.com Okay, so

Do you want to go to the history? Yeah, how these cases start? Well in 1830 Josh, let me tell you a little story about a guy named King Louis Philippe. Okay It's known as a July revolution. He replaced King Charles 10 and X yeah X and And after the the bourbon monarchy fell and this was Parisian radicals were involved in this over throw so even though he was made a king in large part because of these radicals and because of radicalism These radicals were some tough guys and a lot of them were you know, it kind of brought in this Criminal element in some cases. Yeah, and you know, I don't want to say they were bad guys, but maybe they were bad guys

well, the the King Louis Philippe thought that they were a threat to the monarchy because you know He had gotten to the throne by these radicals and it attracted radicals from all over Europe and a lot of them were very soldier-like Yeah, and he was like or former soldiers, right and he said welcome to France. Let me figure out what to do with you I can't legally make you a part of the French army. Yeah, so how about I just make a foreign legion made up of foreign dissidents? foreign nationals and Send them elsewhere and they were pretty happy with that plan. It was March of 1831. Yeah, he laid out his eight articles and pretty much That was what the foreign legion was from who they were to be where were there to train? What were there to wear and a lot of the traditions were established in that very first set of articles and then included in that Chuck

Our was one that said that you had to To check for a birth certificate a certificate of good life manners and a Certificate from a military authority saying that this person is a good soldier And you had to have all that if you're going to accept a recruit that or Or It was up to the the commandant's discretion. Yeah, that it reminded me of like how they'll be a Paragraph in a legal contract that says all these things and the very end it'll say like Or we could just change our mind about all that right

So basically yeah, we need all these papers and documents and that was in our article 7 or article 6 and then the 7th article said Or just let them in if you you know have a good feeling right about them exactly and don't worry about the papers so much and that led to this thing called um The Anna and no name motte and on a motte. Yes, which is anonymity in French and it says that You can join the French foreign legion under an assumed name Because we're going to give you an assumed name one way or another for the first year of your service in the French foreign legion

You need to basically take take on an assumed name You're leaving your old identity behind and that's a really strange unusual aspect of the foreign legion That still exists today. Yeah In fact, it was mandatory until just a few years ago until 2010 you had to Sign up under a different name and then at the end of that year you go through a process called military regularization Of the situation which basically meant you could get your old papers back from your home country and go back to your old name Right and you can still do all that. It's just not mandatory any longer. No But a lot of guys it's like the fresh start, you know, yeah

That's what they're looking for a lot of men who join the army and that's one of every country That's one of the things that the French foreign legion touts when you when you join it It's that we're a place you can have a second chance. Yeah, forget your past even forget your name Minor criminal records. I mean back in the day. They would accept major criminals Now they're a little more selective and they'll overlook like a minor criminal record But nothing like they want except murderers and things like that, right? And for a very long time they would accept nothing no one but foreign nationals You couldn't be French and join the French foreign legion. Yeah, you can join the army, but not the foreign legion, right?

They recently changed that so you can be French Enjoying it, right? Yeah, and you can gain your French citizenship as a foreign national By serving what three years three years in good standing. Yeah And I think you have to go back to your original name and stuff Yeah, you if you're going to get citizenship you can't do it under your declared name, right? And you're talking about that The what was it called where you go through that that? Process of the military regularization of the situation, right such a weird name for name change it really is

But it's not just the name change. It's basically like that represents the end of your first year And it represents the end of the French foreign legion owning you during this time During your first year you You cannot have A civilian bank account. You can't get married. Yeah, you can't wear civilian clothes even off duty You can't buy a car. You can't travel abroad on leave to anywhere but France. You have to wear your uniform Yeah, all the time. Yeah, some in some form or fashion. You have to wear a uniform. So yeah, it's um They own you for the first year. It's definitely harder than the French army. Like you said

Yeah, and whatever status if you're married and you join the French foreign legion You have to enlist as a single man right, so I don't know if I guess you can remain married technically, but The papers say that you're a single man I would imagine if you run off to the French foreign legion Your marriage might be on shaky ground as it is or you're not married. Yeah, that's a good point It's probably not of like already married men doesn't seem like a very family supportive place. Yeah, it's kind of like

You know, you are getting away from a situation or something like that, honey I'm gonna have to deny your existence. Yeah and change my name, right Um, but it's really worth it because I want to be a legionnaire and wear those and wear the kp Right and gain the respect of the French you think Just kidding. Well, you know, what's funny is they are I read an article there's a Article in the December 2012 vanity fair called the expendables. That's pretty interesting. It's about the French foreign legion what they're doing now Yeah, I saw some of that. You remember in our

gold Episode we talked about illicit gold mining in Guiana. Yeah, apparently one of the things the foreign legions doing now is they're fighting those gold miners now Oh shutting that down That's one of the things they're doing because Afghanistan's winding down for the French So they're kind of looking for new stuff to do and that's one of the things new guys to go beat up, right uh Your first contract if you join up as a legionnaire is a minimum of five years

and pay for a corporal starting out Is 1043, uh, I guess euros per month Plus of course, you know All room and board, but that's your take home pay, right or not. I don't know about take home But that's your salary and you get 45 days leave and then you know, there is a path to Prosperity to some degree in success Just like any other army you work your way up

Uh through the officer ranks and uh after that first five years success of contracts Are six months to five years, uh, and I'm not sure how they determine that Whether it's up to you like if you're like, uh, I just want to go six months at a time here guys gotcha or I'm not sure I couldn't actually find any information on that If they're like, no you you must sign for three years, right? Six months, whatever. Yeah, they're like, you'll probably be dead by then anyway, so and we'll keep all of your euros um so in that article one of the things I was that I came across was that the the

um The legionnaires view themselves and apparently are viewed by the french as that's why the article is called the expendables as Basically there to to fight and kill and die. Yeah, and that there's a lot of honor in dying even if it's unnecessarily But they're just they kind of are nihilistic I get the impression and I think you they even use that word they're nihilists. Oh really? Well, it's a list Not say nihilists. Yeah, I did read part of the article though and they said that It normal people don't join the french foreign legion. Right. They said they're all just a little little off. Yeah, which um,

You know good. I bet they're tough dudes Yeah, and uh, the spanish the spanish tried the same thing in 1920. They tried to form the spanish foreign legion Um, and it didn't take so now it's just called the spanish legion. It's made up of spaniards yeah, and some folks say america could try something like a foreign legion with uh The influx of non-americans in this country right to maybe serve under our regular armies And uh, I don't know if that's ever been pitched patch of citizenship should be in the dream act. Yeah, why not dude? I don't know

I'm sure people would be like this is why not Well, yeah, you can email us later. Yeah, I didn't consider it. It just came to my head. Um, you got anything else? No, I want a kp. I'll get you one for your birthday. Do you remember when those were like hip in the 80s with the break dancing? Uh, yeah, those are awesome. It's so funny what different cultures latch on to from different eras. Yes, you know Yeah, somebody said that will look very cool when I'm doing a head spin Yeah, and the the kp was adopted awesome breaking Ohio. It's like the painter's cap and uh When I was growing up the painter's cap and the bicycle caps were very big in the 80s Oh, yeah, the bike caps of the billfold. Oh, yeah, I had a couple of like italians. I just thought oh so cool

What was the name of that one brand that everybody had? Or the bike hat, you know, I'm talking about a trick. No, it was like a french name. I believe. Oh, I don't know Uh, I think I had one though. I thought it was a kind of similar to the word shimano or something But it wasn't yeah, that's Japanese Uh And I know what you mean. It's gonna come to me. I wonder if it is Japanese. I'll bet it's italian or something And I'm saying it's japanese shimano. Yeah I love it when we do these things or we can't think of something because we always get emails where people like

Oh screaming in my home the name. We're sorry for all of you. Campanelli Campanelli. Yeah, that sounds close It's not it's not so close that uh that we're not going to get emails But those of you screaming right now settle down grab you only get a whole of yourselves podcast Uh, if you want to learn more about the foreign legion You can type that word or those words into the search bar at housestuffworks.com And that will bring up this fine article There you go, and I said uh search bar so it's time for listener mail. I guess before we get into that chuck you want a message from our sponsor You love movies or maybe just the need of some recommendations on what new movies to watch next time you sit down in front of the tv

Well, I have the podcast for you. Hey, this is mike d for movie mikes movie podcast Your go-to source for all things movies and no matter the genre what you're into whether it be comedies romance action sci-fi horror Superhero movies. I cover it all. I'm no critic. I'm just a guy who loves movies Each episode explores a different movie topic plus spoiler-free reviews on the latest new movies in theaters and on streaming And yes, they're always spoiler-free so you don't have to worry about anything getting ruined for you Plus interviews with actors directors and writers covering the behind the scenes of your favorite movies I also keep you in the know with all the latest movie news and movie trailers Listen to new episodes of movie mikes movie podcasts every monday on the natural podcast network available on the eye heart radio app

apple podcast or wherever you listen to podcasts This is what it sounds like inside the box car I'm journalist in el morton in my podcast city of the rails I plunge into the dark world of america's railroads searching for my daughter ruby who ran off to hop trains I'm just like stuck on this train god knows where I'm gonna end up and I jump Following my daughter. I found a secret city of unforgettable characters living outside society off the grid and on the edge I was in love with a lifestyle on the freedom this community No one understands who we truly are

The rails made me question everything I knew about motherhood history and the thing we call the american dream It's the last vestige of american freedom Everything about it is extreme You're either going to die or you could have this incredible rebirth and really understand who you are Come with me to find out what waits for us in the city of the rails Listen to city of the rails on the eye heart radio app apple podcast or wherever you get your podcasts or cityoftherails.com And now it's time for the listener mail. Yeah

This is from Donato, and it's about autopsies Dudes just finished listening to how on the autopsies work wanted to mention a couple of things I'm currently in law enforcement and have attended a few of them My first one was really fascinating the me tried to get me to bomb it by handing me a brain The pastries assistant, but it actually really turned out to be extremely exciting for me Yeah, so screw you and me. I'm not vomiting. Look at me. I'm juggling this brain. I'm excited Um, I wanted to point out you did not mention the extraction of vitreous fluid from the eyeballs using a needle That part was a little freaky to me

I have to admit and after a couple of times. That's why it was done which leads me to toxa toxicological Toxicological examination nice Fluids and samples from some organs are sent for examination in these cases Uh, and in my experience me's will not provide a final thought to before toxicology results come back And lastly the difference between cause and manner of death

COD and mod they are used interchangeably often But COD is the physiological mechanism Responsible for death where mod is the explanation How the COD can be for example asphyxia is the COD And murder is the mod if a person is smothered with their pillow. Got you So, uh, COD can be considered purely medical while the mod is a combination of medical and investigative And evil and evil. So, uh, I hope it did not double tap something you guys covered Oh, that's an old-timey reference. Nice call out to uh green berets

Uh, delta delta force. Thank you. Donato Thanks. Donato appreciate that. He's written in before awesome. Thanks for writing in again. Has he made listener mail before? Uh, no, I'll tell you what he wrote in before after. Okay. Okay. I just winked at Chuck Um, if you want to write in you can write in as many times as possible See if you can get on listener mail twice. I don't think anyone ever has right well, sarah the amazing 11 12 now 13 14 Probably 15 year old. Yeah, that's right. Thank you for correcting me and sarah. Come on. We haven't had a letter in a while Yeah, it's been a long time. We don't know how drama class is going and all that. Geez get on it All right, uh, if you want to get in touch with us, you can tweet to us at sysk podcast

You can join us on facebook.com slash stuff. You should know you can send us an email to stuff podcast at discovery.com And you can join us at the universal church of chuck and josh stuff. You should know For more on this and thousands of other topics visit house stuff works calm The war on drugs is the excuse our government uses to get away with absolutely insane stuff stuff that'll piss you off The cops are they just like looting? They're just like pillaging. They just have way better names for what they call like what we would call a jack move or being Robbed they call civil acid Be sure to listen to the war on drugs on the iHeart radio app apple podcast or wherever you get your podcast

Where were you in 92 bouncing your butt to sir mix a lot wondering if you like billy ray siris could pull off a Moment now iHeart has a podcast all about it. I'm jason lonfie and on my new show where were you in 92? We take a ride through the major hits one hit wonders and shocking scandals that shaped the wildest 12 months of music history You know the president came after me everybody time Warner was madness music was magic And I had completely burned that to the ground. I realized i'm the forbidden fruit So listen and follow where are you 92 on the iHeart radio app apple podcast or wherever you listen to your favorite shows