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The French exile government was located in Algiers (Algeria). Already in 1943 they were reckoning on a large scale of prisoners from British and U.S. custody to compensate the lack of French laborer.

The headquarter of Tunisia was in Tunis. An officers camp was in Géryville (Algeria) and a special camp for officers in Morocco. In Zaghouan was a special camp for NCOs. The prisoners were mainly used for mine clearing and reconstruction.

For the French government the labor of the prisoners was very important. Often a prisoner immediately reached a labor camp without any registration. This hurry caused some problems like in Bou Arfa (Morocco) were many prisoners got malaria due to a lack of water. 1946 Paris claimed under heavy protests of the North African countries the prisoners for their own labor market. On the other hand the Italian prisoners or war were all repatriated from October '45 until June '46. 1947 remained 500 German specialists in Tunisia.

In the beginning the situation in the camps was better than after V-E because the prisoners had until then a intact German government on their side. That shows the help from Germany for the prisoners in North Africa. 308.093 parcels, 5 kg each, were send - mostly food. From January, 01, 1944 the German Red Cross has sent 200.000 kg food every month. Many prisoners survived only due to that supply.

The situation in North Africa was equal in general.
The quarters were considered as inhuman. The prisoners had to sleep on the bare floor. Later they received material to construct beds and other things. Nevertheless the quarters, with 20 men each, remained insufficient. The prisoners went hungry all the time, especially when the supply from Germany ended.

The healthcare was sufficient and well organized over the years. 

The mail service was very bad. Even in 1947 when things turned back to normal, a shipment lasted month.

The disciplinary measures fitted more into the middle age than to the Geneva Convention. The punishments were often cruel and arbitrary because with the smallest offences the prisoners were whip or got an hard arrest.

The spiritual welfare in the camps was very large although the priest had no influence on the camp commander. In great distress people learn to pray.

The foreign legion recruited "volunteers". Inasmuch as you can speak under great hunger, the death in sight and the prospect of freedom about voluntariness. It was rumored that members of the nazi party, the SD etc. will have a bad future. The uncertainty about the future was another factor to "volunteer" to the foreign legion. If they became cannon fodder in the French wars is hardly to prove. In any case, not much legionary's returned home and no statistic counts them to the losses of World War 2.