This article lists the principal units of the Foreign Legion in the French Army created since 1831. Legion units are only cited once, based on their respective dates of creation. A dissolved Legion unit which is recreated under the same designation will only appear once. The last section of the list re-summarizes actual Legion units in service.

19th century

• French Foreign Legion (1st formation) – 9 March 1831
• 2nd Foreign Legion (2LE) (2nd formation) – 3 February 1836
• 1st Foreign Regiment – 1 April 1841
• 2nd Foreign Infantry Regiment – 1 April 1841
• Foreign Brigade (unit designation in 1854 for two merged foreign regiments during the Crimean War)
• Mounted Companies (Compagnies montées de la Légion étrangère) – 1881
• Saharan Companies of the French Foreign Legion, Saharan Companies and Squadrons of the French Foreign Legion – (CSPLE, ESPLE) – 1901
• 1st Marching Regiment of the 2nd Foreign Regiment (1^erRM 2^eRE) – 1907
• 1st Marching Regiment of the 1st Foreign Regiment (1^e RM 1^er RE) – 1913

World War I

• 2nd Marching Regiment of the 2nd Foreign Regiment (2^e RM 2^e RE) – end of August 1914
• 2nd Marching Regiment of the 1st Foreign Regiment (2^e RM 1^er RE) – September 1914
• 3rd Marching Regiment of the 1st Foreign Regiment (3^e RM 1^er RE) – (first called Marching Regiment of the Foreign Legion entrenched camp of Paris) – September 1914
• 4th Marching Regiment of the 1st Foreign Regiment (4^e RM 1^er RE) – 5 November 1914
• Marching Regiment of the Foreign Legion (RMLE) – 11 November 1915

Interwar period

• 3rd Foreign Infantry Regiment (3^e RE), ex-RMLE – 15 November 1920
• 4th Foreign Infantry Regiment (4^e REI) – 15 November 1920
• 1st Foreign Cavalry Regiment (1^er REC) – 1921
• Demi-Brigade of the Foreign Legion in Indochina (DBLE) – 2 August 1930
• 5th Foreign Infantry Regiment (5^e REI) – 1 September 1930
• Foreign Legion Command (COMLE)^[1] – successive appellations and designations IILE^[2] (1931), GALE^[3] (1950), COLE^[4] (1955), ITLE^[5] (1957), GLE^[6] (1972) and COMLE^[7] (1984) – 1 April 1931.
• Communal Depot of the Foreign Regiments – successive appellations and designations DCRE (1933) and DCLE (1950) – 13 October 1933.
• 2nd Foreign Cavalry Regiment – 1 July 1939

World War II

• Marching Regiments of Foreign Volunteers (1^er, 2^e and 3^e RMVE) – 29 September 1939, became the 21^e, 22^e, 23^e RMVE
• 6th Foreign Infantry Regiment (6^e REI) – 1 October 1939
• 11th Foreign Infantry Regiment (11^e REI) – 6 November 1939
• 97th Reconnaissance Group of the Infantry Division – GRD 97 (first called GRDI 180) – 1 December 1939
• 12th Foreign Infantry Regiment (12^e REI) – 24 February 1940
• 13th Demi-Brigade of the Foreign Legion (13^e DBLE) (first called 13th Light Mountain Demi-Brigade) – became the 13^e DBLE on 12 November 1940
• 21st Marching Regiment of Foreign Volunteers – (21^e RMVE) – first called 1^er RMVE – 29 September 1939
• 22nd Marching Regiment of Foreign Volunteers (22^e RMVE) first called 2^e RMVE – 24 October 1939
• 23rd Marching Regiment of Foreign Volunteers (23^e RMVE) – first called 3^e RMVE – May 1940

Decolonization

Indochina War

• Disciplinary Company of the Foreign Regiments in the Far East (CDRE/EO) – 1 June 1946
• Passage Company of the Foreign Legion (CPLE) of the Far East – 1 May 1947
• Armored Train of the Foreign Legion (TBLE) – 1948
• Parachute Company of the 3rd Foreign Infantry Regiment – Para Co. 3rd Foreign Infantry Regiment (3^e REI) – 1 April 1948 – later designations: 1st Foreign Parachute Battalion (1^er BEP)
• 1st Foreign Parachute Regiment – later names and designations: 1st Foreign Parachute Battalion (1^er BEP) – 1948 and (1^er REP) – 1955 – 1 July 1948
• 2nd Foreign Parachute Regiment – successive appellations and designations, 2^e BEP (1948) and 2^e REP (1955) – 9 October 1948.
• 3rd Foreign Parachute Regiment – successive appellations and designations, 3rd Foreign Parachute Battalion (3^e BEP – 1949 and 3^e REP – 1955) – November 1949
• Foreign Air Supply Company (CERA) – 1 January 1951
• 1st Foreign Parachute Heavy Mortar Company (1^re CEPML) – 1 September 1953

Algerian War

After 1962

• 61st Mixed Legion Engineer Battalion – 61^e BMGL – 1963
• 5th Mixed Regiment of the Pacific 5^e RMP (ex-5^e REI) – October 1963.
• 5th Heavy Weight Transport Company (CTGP) – 5^e CTGP – 1 May 1965.
• Foreign Legion Detachment in Mayotte successive designations and appellations DLEC (1973) and DLEM (1975) – 2 August 1973.
• 6th Foreign Engineer Regiment – 6^e REG – 1 July 1984.
• 1st Foreign Engineer Regiment – 1^er REG (ex-6^e REG) – 1 July 1999.
• 2nd Foreign Engineer Regiment – 2^e REG – 1 July 1999.
• Foreign Legion Recruiting Group – GRLE – 1 July 2007.

Current Legion units

• Commandement de la Légion étrangère – COMLE.^[8]
• Groupement de recrutement de la Légion étrangère (GRLE)
• 1er Régiment étranger (1^er RE)
• 1er Régiment Étranger de Cavalerie (1^er REC)
• 1er Régiment étranger de génie (1^e REG)
• 2e Régiment étranger de parachutistes (2^e REP)
• 2e Régiment étranger de infanterie (2^e REI)
• 2e Régiment Etranger de Génie (2^e REG)
• 3e Régiment étranger d'infanterie (3^e REI)
• 4e Régiment étranger (4^e RE)
• 13e Demi-Brigade de Légion Étrangère (13^e DBLE)
• Détachement de Légion étrangère de Mayotte
• Musique de la Légion étrangère (MLE)