Jan 02 2009
A medal? What for?
Every January 1st, there is a ceremony in France in which the President rewards the highest rated civilians, companies, schools, associations, ambassadors, etc. etc. by giving them the “Légion d’honneur“. Instituted by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1802, it has several ranks:
- Chevalier de la Légion d’honneur
- Officier de la Légion d’honneur
- Commandeur de la Légion d’honneur
- Grand officier de la Légion d’honneur
- Grand-croix de la Légion d’honneur
As a few people did in the past for diverse reasons, this honor can be refused and it can also be taken away from its recipient which is what happened to Maurice Papon for example.
You can look at the complete list of names (from A to Z) through this page and also the 2009 cru thanks to Le Figaro. If you are really interested, there is a Museum of The Légion d’Honneur also in Paris.
Simone Veil is the one most talked about this year. She recently has been elevated to the Académie Française and used to be Minister of Health under Valéry Giscard d’Estaing (also President of the European Parliament and member of the Constitutional Council of France) and is best known for writing and securing passage of the law legalizing abortion
The following is a non-exhaustive list of celebrities who got promoted to the next honor rank and a few new faces, with some comments about who these people are in green:
Officier de la Légion d’Honneur:
Finkielkraut (Alain, Luc) , philosopher, writer.
Zidane (Zinédine), soccer player.
Huppert (Isabelle, Anne, Madeleine), actress and will be presiding the Cannes Festival this year. <IMDB>
Le Clézio (Jean-Marie, Gustave), writer, Nobel Prize of Literature
Thielland (Marie-France, Chantal, Geneviève) dite Bulle Ogier, actress.
Vartan (Sylvie), singer, she was Johnny Hallyday ’s first wife, they had a son, David and she is also the paternal aunt of Michael Vartan… yes the one who plays in Alias .
Chevalier de la Légion d’Honneur:
Barbelivien (Didier, René, Henri), author, composer and singer.
Bashung (Alain), author, composer, singer and actor
Leeb (Michel, Edouard, Nicola), comedian, actor
Baye (Nathalie, Marie, Andrée), actress and one of many loves of Johnny Hallyday’s, they had a daughter, Laura.
