2 PARA soldier firing the General Purpose Machine Gun (GPMG), Exercise BLUE LEGIONNAIRE, January 2014.

A 2 PARA soldier firing the General Purpose Machine Gun (GPMG) whilst other 2 PARA soldiers practise defensive and offensive patrol drills in 2e REP's Fighting in Built Up Area (FIBUA) village.

British paratroopers trained 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 in Corsica. Exercise BLUE LEGIONNAIRE saw the two units train with each other’s weaponry and practise fighting together in urban areas and beach assaults, as well as climbing and hiking in the island’s rugged mountains.

The two-week long training is part of an operational partnership between the British 16 Air Assault Brigade and the French 11e Brigade Parachutiste, which stands at high readiness to deploy together on contingency operations.