History UsefulNotes / GaulsWithGrenades

The AMX-56 Leclerc is France's current main battle tank, made by Nexter of France, formerly GIAT. Developed in 1991, it replaced the AMX 30 from the Cold War. The Leclerc uses non-explosive reactive armor, as opposed to the explosive reactive armor found on most tanks. It carries a 120mm smoothbore cannon that can theoretically fire any NATO standard ammunition, but typically carries French-made ammo.

Despite the CheeseEatingSurrenderMonkeys stereotype, France actually has a pretty good war record. Whether ultimately winning the {{Hundred Years War}} against England, preventing the Muslim conquest of Europe under the leadership [[AuthorityEqualsAsskicking Charles Martel]], fighting and winning against large coalitions under {{Louis XIV}}, providing naval aid and essential supplies to the colonial forces during the {{American Revolution}}, defeating the rest of Europe in the French Revolutionary Wars, nearly ''conquering'' the rest of the continent in the Napoleonic Wars, or fighting toe to toe with the {{German Empire}} during {{World War I}}, France has a remarkable military history that's only taken a beating due to the Franco-Prussian War of 1870 (or so), {{World War II}} and subsequent colonial defeats at the hands of countries like Algeria and [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indochina Indochina]] (Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos). It should be noted that France is the only other country besides Germany, Poland-Lithuania and the Mongol Empire to have gotten close to or captured Moscow in an invasion of Russia; the difference being they did it under the leadership of Napoleon [[CrowningMomentofAwesome WITHOUT TANKS]], only for the Russians to burn Moscow to the ground rather than let the French take it. In the First World War, 1.5 million young French men were killed in battle. The French didn't really surrender to the Germans in World War 2 because of any lack of {{Badass}}, they did it because they were fighting the Wehrmacht and only massively superior numbers could stop that army and because of an enormous strategical mistake on the part of the French - British High Command (namely, sending most of their forces, including the best ones, to northern Belgium).

* French people were simply [[WhatASenselessWasteOfHumanLife very deeply disgusted]] with war since {{WWI}}. After {{WWI}}, ''sixty percent'' of all men between the age of 18 and 35 in France were either killed or permanently maimed, turning France into a "nation of old men and cripples." No wonder they didn't want to fight.

* Parodied in {{Discworld}} when Death joins the Klatchian Foreign Legion.
* [[LooneyTunes Pepe Le Pew]] joins up at one point. And somehow finds a black cat ...

* ''Main/{{Hitman}} Codename 47'': 47's "fathers" were all soldiers in the Foreign Legion, with the exception Dr. Ort-Meyer.

* ''Main/{{Hitman}} Codename 47'': 47's "fathers" were all soldiers in the Foreign Legion, with the exception Dr. Ort-Meyer.
**

* LaurelAndHardy : ''The Flying Deuces''.

* In RedStormRising, French F-8 Crusaders (retired from US service not too long after [[VietnamWar Vietnam]]) operating from the carrier ''Foch'', thanks to a diversion drawing off US Navy aircraft, are the only naval aircraft to successfully engage Soviet [[ReportingNames Backfires]] that sent a MacrossMissileMassacre at the NATO carrier battlegroup. Unfortunately, the few bombers shot down were only lost after the missiles had hit, which not only severely damaged (possibly destroyed) the ''Foch'', but put a hurt on several US warships, including the carrier USS ''Nimitz'', where one of the main protagonists was located at the time.

* ''Main/{{Hitman}} Codename 47'': 47's "fathers" were all soldiers in the Foreign Legion, with the exception Dr. Ort-Meyer.

* ''VideoGame/{{Hitman}} Codename 47'': 47's "fathers" were all soldiers in the Foreign Legion, with the exception Dr. Ort-Meyer.

* French tank units are involved in the fighting against the [[HordeOfAlienLocusts Posleen]], in JohnRingo's ''[[PosleenWarSeries Gust Front]]'', along with [[YanksWithTanks US]] and [[WeAreNotTheWehrmacht German]] tank units, [[HoldTheLine holding the line]] until the [[PoweredArmor ACS]] under "Mighty Mite" can break out and mangle the Posties.
** The French leadership in general tends to get looked down upon by Ringo in general, but he doesn't carry that over to their armed forces.

* ''TheMummy'' starts with main character Rick O'Connell and his [[ChronicBackstabbingDisorder back-stabbing]] sidekick Beni Gabor in the French Foreign Legion fighting against Arabs on a quest to find the lost ancient Egyptian city of Hamunaptra.

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* In the ''Hoka'' series of books, a group of overly-imaginative alien anthropomorphic teddy bears have formed their own French Foreign Legion, and end up getting convinced by a human diplomat to travel to another planet with him to rescue his wife from a primitive alien tribe who have made her queen and are giving her [[WhatDoYouMeanItsNotHeineous many fattening meals as tribute.]]

Despite the CheeseEatingSurrenderMonkeys stereotype, France actually has a pretty good war record. Whether ultimately winning the {{Hundred Years War}} against England, preventing the Muslim conquest of Europe under the leadership [[AuthorityEqualsAsskicking Charles Martel]], fighting and winning against large coalitions under {{Louis XIV}}, providing naval aid and essential supplies to the colonial forces during the {{American Revolution}}, defeating the rest of Europe in the French Revolutionary Wars, nearly ''conquering'' the rest of the continent in the Napoleonic Wars, or fighting toe to toe with the {{German Empire}} during {{World War I}}, France has a remarkable military history that's only taken a beating due to the Franco-Prussian War of 1870 (or so), {{World War II}} and subsequent colonial defeats at the hands of countries like Algeria and [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indochina Indochina]] (Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos). It should be noted that France is the only other country besides Germany, Poland-Lithuania and the Mongol Empire to have gotten close to or captured Moscow in an invasion of Russia; the difference being they did it under the leadership of Napoleon [[CrowningMomentofAwesome WITHOUT TANKS]], only for the Russians to burn Moscow to the ground rather than let the French take it. In the First World War, 1.5 million young French men were killed in battle. The French didn't really surrender to the Germans in World War 2 because of any lack of {{Badass}}, they did it because they were fighting the Wehrmacht and only massively superior numbers could stop that army.

Despite the CheeseEatingSurrenderMonkeys stereotype, France actually has a pretty good war record. Whether ultimately winning the {{Hundred Years War}} against England, preventing the Muslim conquest of Europe under the leadership [[AuthorityEqualsAsskicking Charles Martel]], fighting and winning against large coalitions under {{Louis XIV}}, providing naval aid and essential supplies to the colonial forces during the {{American Revolution}}, defeating the rest of Europe in the French Revolutionary Wars, nearly ''conquering'' the rest of the continent in the Napoleonic Wars, or fighting toe to toe with the {{German Empire}} during {{World War I}}, France has a remarkable military history that's only taken a beating due to the Franco-Prussian War of 1870 (or so), {{World War II}} and subsequent colonial defeats at the hands of countries like Algeria and Thailand. It should be noted that France is the only other country besides Germany, Poland-Lithuania and the Mongol Empire to have gotten close to or captured Moscow in an invasion of Russia; the difference being they did it under the leadership of Napoleon [[CrowningMomentofAwesome WITHOUT TANKS]], only for the Russians to burn Moscow to the ground rather than let the French take it. In the First World War, 1.5 million young French men were killed in battle. The French didn't really surrender to the Germans in World War 2 because of any lack of {{Badass}}, they did it because they were fighting the Wehrmacht and only massively superior numbers could stop that army.

* French people were simply [[WhatASenselessWasteOfHumanLife very deeply disgusted]] with war since {{WWI}}. After {{WWI}}, ''sixty percent'' of all young men in France were either killed or permanently maimed. No wonder they didn't want to fight.

* French people were simply [[WhatASenselessWasteOfHumanLife very deeply disgusted]] with war since {{WWI}}.

* French people were simply [[WhatASenselessWasteOfHumanLife very deeply disgusted]] of war since {{WWI}}.

Despite the CheeseEatingSurrenderMonkeys stereotype, France actually has a pretty good war record. Whether ultimately winning the {{Hundred Years War}} against England, preventing the Muslim conquest of Europe under the leadership [[AuthorityEqualsAsskicking Charles Martel]], fighting and winning against large coalitions under {{Louis XIV}}, providing naval aid and essential supplies to the colonial forces during the {{American Revolution}}, defeating the rest of Europe in the French Revolutionary Wars, nearly ''conquering'' the rest of the continent in the Napoleonic Wars, or fighting toe to toe with the {{German Empire}} during {{World War I}}, France has a remarkable military history that's only taken a beating due to the Franco-Prussian War of 1870 (or so), {{World War II}} and subsequent colonial defeats at the hands of countries like Algeria and Thailand. It should be noted that France is the only other country besides [[strike:Nazi Germany]] Poland-Lithuania and the Mongol Empire to have [[strike:gotten close to]] captured Moscow in an invasion of Russia; the difference being they did it under the leadership of Napoleon [[CrowningMomentofAwesome WITHOUT TANKS]], they even got further than the Germans did only for the Russians to burn Moscow to the ground rather than let the French take it. In the First World War, 1.5 million young French men were killed in battle. The French didn't really surrender to the Germans in World War 2 because of any lack of {{Badass}}, they did it because they lacked enough fighting men to oppose them.

Despite the CheeseEatingSurrenderMonkeys stereotype, France actually has a pretty good war record. Whether ultimately winning the {{Hundred Years War}} against England, preventing the Muslim conquest of Europe under the leadership [[AuthorityEqualsAsskicking Charles Martel]], fighting and winning against large coalitions under {{Louis XIV}}, providing naval aid and essential supplies to the colonial forces during the {{American Revolution}}, defeating the rest of Europe in the French Revolutionary Wars, nearly ''conquering'' the rest of the continent in the Napoleonic Wars, or fighting toe to toe with the {{German Empire}} during {{World War I}}, France has a remarkable military history that's only taken a beating due to the Franco-Prussian War of 1870 (or so), {{World War II}} and subsequent colonial defeats at the hands of countries like Algeria and Thailand. It should be noted that France is the only other country besides [[strike:Nazi Germany]] Poland-Lithuania to have [[strike:gotten close to]] captured Moscow in an invasion of Russia; the difference being they did it under the leadership of Napoleon [[CrowningMomentofAwesome WITHOUT TANKS]], they even got further than the Germans did only for the Russians to burn Moscow to the ground rather than let the French take it. In the First World War, 1.5 million young French men were killed in battle. The French didn't really surrender to the Germans in World War 2 because of any lack of {{Badass}}, they did it because they lacked enough fighting men to oppose them.

''The Foreign Legion''

->''France got [[AtomicHate The Bomb]], but don't you grieve\\
'Cause they're on [[EagleLand our]] side... I believe''.
-->-- TomLehrer, ''[[ChineseWithChopperSupport Who's Next]]?''.

* They still had 1.8 million soldiers, all of whom were then taken prisoner. That's WAY more than enough to stage an effective resistance.

-->-- TomLehrer.

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