Legionnaires storming a beach defended by 2 PARA soldiers, Exercise BLUE LEGIONNAIRE, January 2014.

Paratroopers strengthen French connection

British paratroopers trained on air, land and sea with their counterparts from the French Foreign Legion to build a closer working relationship.

B Company, 2 PARA, worked alongside 2e Regiment Etranger de Parachutistes (2e REP) at their base on the rugged island of Corsica. Exercise BLUE LEGIONNAIRE saw the two units fire each other’s weaponry and practise fighting together in urban areas.

2e REP has specialist mountain and amphibious troops who taught 2 PARA’s soldiers survival techniques and climbing on Corsica’s snow-capped mountains and, in the Mediterranean Sea, handling assault boats and attacking and defending beaches.