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French Guiana, a tropical French colony
on the equator between Venezuela and Brazil, is home to the
Legion's third Regiment. 850 Legionnaires are stationed here,
from 60 different countries. Many have come here to forget.
Unhappiness, debts, wives, families, violence, rejection.
Some come to prove themselves, or simply to escape.
Still full of petty criminals, alimony dodgers
and mercenaries, the Legion has also more recently become
refuge for thousands of East Europeans in search of a quick
route to a French passport and a meal-ticket. But, as they
say, there is no such thing as a free lunch. A lot can happen
in five years. Once the brutal training is complete, life
for the Legionnaires stationed in French Guiana is no picnic.
Shark-infested seas, deadly snakes, tropical diseases and
25-foot crocodiles await.
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