1st Spahis colour guard in the 2008 Bastille Day Military ParadeSpahi officer (c. 1880)Spahis in traditional fantasia riding display, 1886Algerian Spahi trooper (c.1900)Spahi uniform c. 1960 as worn by French maréchal des logis-chef. Note the distinctive North African burnous.Spahi uniform, today: 2006 pattern parade uniform for a maréchal des logis of the 1st Spahi Regiment, again with distinctive burnous
Spahis (French pronunciation:[spa.i]) were light-cavalryregiments of the French army recruited primarily from the Arab and Berber populations of Algeria, Tunisia and Morocco. The modern French Army retains one regiment of Spahis as an armoured unit, with personnel now recruited in mainland France. Senegal also maintains a mounted unit with spahi origins as a presidential escort: the Red Guard.
