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Why did the requirement to enlist under an assumed name add to the French Foreign Legion’s romantic image?

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French Foreign Legion soldiers in uniform with white hats and rifles stand in formation during a Bastille Day parade on the Champs Elysees in Paris. — French Foreign Legion Soldiers of the French Foreign Legion in a parade celebrating Bastille Day in Paris.

The requirement to enlist under an assumed name, known as the anonymat, significantly contributed to the French Foreign Legion’s romantic image by offering recruits the possibility of a fresh start or a clean slate in life.1

This practice allowed legionnaires to invent fantastic pasts or to imagine that their fellow soldiers were tragic or romantic figures—such as "kings having lost their thrones, bishops who misplaced their miters, or generals who lost their stars". The allure of leaving behind one's former life for an environment defined by manly hardships and challenges captured the public imagination. This perception was further bolstered by literary works and films, such as Percival Christopher Wren’s Beau Geste, which emphasized the themes of adventure, romanticism, and the promise of redemption through service.1