Tiens, Tiens, Voilà du Boudin

The online strategy is a dramatic shift from the legion's more passive traditional approach of posting posters in railroad stations while waiting for social, economic and political turmoil to push recruits its way. After the Spanish Civil War ended in 1939, for instance, Spanish enlistment soared, only to dwindle in contemporary times as Spain prospered with European Union membership.

By far the lowest contingent remains English-speaking recruits - just 2 percent are from the United States and Britain. According to legion officials, this is due not to cultural antagonisms, but rather because American and British applicants have trouble passing endurance tests that emphasize lower body strength and running.

Doreen Carvajal writes about the French Foreign Legion.

The [stiff white] caps are exhibited at the force's Aubagne museum, but the historic displays and battle paintings also underscore the harsh side of life - and death - for a legionnaire. In the long, bloody history of the Foreign Legion, 35,000 men have died in combat, the last in Haiti in 2004.

Given that history, the most frequent question that recruiting officers pose to candidates is blunt: "Are you sure you want to become a legionnaire?"