Deep in Provence, veterans of the Foreign Legion occupy their old age by making wine and olive oil.
They are the French counterpart of Chelsea pensioners [les retraités de l’armée britannique hébergés au Royal Chelsea Hospital de Londres] – with this difference that they spend their retirement in the middle of vineyards and olive trees, in a castle of the XVIe century and its 220 hectare estate.
Captain Danjou’s estate, not far from Aix-en-Provence, was established in 1954 to manage the influx of wounded legionnaires in Indochina, and initially had nearly 400 residents. Under the official name of the Foreign Legion Invalids Institution, it now only houses 80 veterans, who are in convalescence or re-education, or who simply need a roof over their head. The youngest is 36, the oldest 96.
A tour of the estate, located in Puyloubier, 40 kilometers north of the Legion’s recruiting center in Aubagne, provides an insight into this one-of-a-kind establishment whose residents hail from dozens of different countries.
A new name
You won’t see women among them, as often happens in the institution in which they served. The master of the place, Lieutenant-Colonel Olivier Madonna, 54, welcomes us to his large office with walls lined with Legion memorabilia.
“We don’t receive any subsidies, and it’s the wine that provides most of the cash flow we need to run the estate.”
This year, the estate released 160,000 bottles – compared to the usual 200,000, due to frost and hail – almost half of which will land on Legion mess tables, the rest being sold to the public.
Some residents make mugs, figurines and other souvenirs for sale in the online store, while others make commemorative books. The institution also receives legacies and donations.
The estate takes its name from Jean Danjou, one of the figures of the Legion, who was killed during Napoleon III’s expedition to Mexico in 1863. Every April 30 – one of the main dates in the military calendar – Jean Danjou’s wooden hand, a custom-designed prosthesis, comes out of its socket and is presented to the public.
The Legion, which today has nearly 9,000 members and is dispatched to the most dangerous places in the glob