A new part of the PHOTOS series. Today, we explore the now-discontinued products from the workshops of the Foreign Legion Institution for Disabled Veterans (IILE), which were prominently showcased in vibrant, regular color advertisements in Képi Blanc, the French Foreign Legion’s magazine, from the mid-1970s to the early 1990s.
Since its founding in 1947, Képi Blanc, the official magazine of the French Foreign Legion, has relied on advertisements to support its publication, primarily promoting local products or beer producers. A significant change came in early 1975 when the magazine featured its first black-and-white advertisement for products from the Institution for Disabled Veterans, a home for disabled and retired legionnaires established in Puyloubier, southern France, in 1954. These ads highlighted mainly ceramic products handcrafted by IILE veterans, which provided meaningful activity, a sense of purpose, and financial support for the institution while promoting the Legion’s identity and traditions.
For the record, the Legion’s involvement in ceramics predates the founding of the IILE. The first ceramic workshop was set up in 1950 in Sidi Bel Abbès, Algeria, the Legion’s then-headquarters. It operated alongside other craft workshops like bookbinding. After the creation of the IILE, these workshops were transferred there.
By the mid-1970s, the ceramic workshop in Puyloubier employed around 25 veterans, becoming the institution’s most important component. A second workshop was opened in 1975, confirming the popularity and success of the ceramics program. The same year the aforementioned first advertisement for IILE products was published in Képi Blanc. The ad featured irregularly inside the magazine for over a year.
In October 1976, the first color IILE advertisement appeared on the back of the magazine, still intended for the promotion of commercial products. This reflected the beginning of what we can call the “golden age” of the IILE workshops and the artisanal products of the Foreign Legion, lasting until the first half of the 1990s. These colorful ads ran continuously for over 15 years, drawing attention to the veterans’ craftsmanship.
However, the global market began to shift after the fall of the Eastern Bloc in 1991. Globalization and the influx of inexpensive goods from Asia made it hard for the IILE workshops to remain financially competitive. Thus, ads for handcrafted products disappeared from the magazine’s back cover in November 1992. Since that time, wine production has become the institution’s primary source of income.
The IILE’s workshops, however, were not originally intended just to generate profit. As Major Le Roch, the institution’s first director, said in 1958: “We are not here for the numbers. We are here for the pensioners. We have to give back morale to people who were broken by life, often before joining the Legion, and who were subsequently wounded and traumatized by the war.” His words reflected the IILE’s initial mission: to support former legionnaires who had served honorably but suffered lasting physical or psychological injuries, and to help them rebuild their spirit and sense of purpose through meaningful, creative work within a community, and thus reintegrate them into society.
Even so, the workshops never fully disappeared. They still exist today, producing custom pieces – though only on demand and with less visibility due to minimal promotion. After the end of the Algerian War in 1962, the IILE gradually shifted its focus from war-disabled veterans to aging legionnaires. But the importance of meaningful, creative work as a source of morale and renewed spirit has remained just as vital. The handcrafted ceramics from this “golden age,” showcased in Képi Blanc, stand as a testament to the skill and creativity of the veterans in Puyloubier. At the same time, it’s reasonable to believe that such high-quality, original artisanal products could still attract buyers nowadays if they were properly promoted.
Whatever the current situation is, here are examples from the golden era of IILE unique handcrafted items, proudly advertised on the back pages of Képi Blanc from the mid-1970s to the early 1990s. Enjoy.
Click on the images to enlarge them:
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