
It is slightly less powerful than a Great War Infantry, but it has a Foreign Lands Combat Bonus promotion (which transfers on upgrade), making it an excellent unit to use on the offensive.

In Brave New World, the Foreign Legion is a special unit, only available through the Volunteer Army tenet of the Freedom Ideology, or gifted by Militaristic City-States. The Foreign Lands Bonus transfers to the later Infantry and Mechanized Infantry units, so they can turn into an offensive civilization in the end game. In vanilla Civilization V and Gods & Kings, the Foreign Legion gives the French the ability to continue on the offensive in the dawn of the Modern Era. Foreign Lands Bonus: Combat Bonus outside Friendly Territory (20).Also appears in Scramble for Africa as France's unique unit. They are available in limited amounts through the Volunteer Army ideological tenet, or from allied Militaristic City-States who offer it as their bonus troop once you have the ability to build Great War Infantry. The Foreign Legion is a Gunpowder unit available in the Modern era.
