PUYLOUBIER REVISITED

«ANCIEN LÉGIONNAIRE — LE DIABLE MARCHE AVEC NOUS»

Swiss based photographer Armin Raso is portraying the life of the habitants at the «Institution des Invalides de la Légion Étrangère» (I.I.L.E.) in Puyloubier, Southern France. The I.I.L.E. serves as a framework for the professional and social reintegration of former soldiers of the French Foreign Legion (Légion Étrangère) who have been discharged due to illnesses or injuries sustained in service, but also of those who are "injured in life" and who have difficulty reintegrating into civilian life.

The project was first started in 2001 when Raso visited the I.I.L.E. for his photographic documentary arts project «Ancien Légionnaire» (twelve years after he had joined the French Foreign Legion for some time himself). The privilege to return to the Legion as a photographer, provided Raso with a unique experience to document the life and environment of the "ancien legionnaires" and their daily routines. In 2022 Armin Raso's photo documentary is being continued as a book project in collaboration with Thomas Gast, who is a long-time veteran of the legion's parachutist regiment (2^eme REP) and author of several books about the life in the Legion.