Information AboutLegion Of Honour |
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The Légion d'honneur (in English '''Legion of Honour''' or '''Legion of Honor''', see Spelling Differences ) is an Order Of Chivalry first established by Napoléon Bonaparte , First Consul of the French Republic , on May 19 , 1802 . It is the most senior Order in France, and appointment to the Legion is a great honour. The Order has five classes:
The Order's motto is ''Honneur et patrie''. HISTORY The Order replaced the old Orders of Saint Michael , The Holy Spirit , Saint Louis , Saint Lazarus and Mount Carmel . The order is conferred upon men and women, either French citizens or foreigners, for outstanding achievements in military or civil life. In practice, in current usage, the order is conferred, in addition to military recipients, to many Entrepreneur s, high-level Civil Servants , Sport Champion s as well as other people with high connections in the Executive . According to some sources, Napoleon declared: ''On appelle ça des hochets, je sais, on l'a dit déjà. Et bien, j'ai répondu que c'est avec des hochets que l'on mène les hommes.'' — "We call these children's toys, I know, we've said it already. Well, I replied that it's with children's toys that you lead men." (The French word ''hochet'' means a child's rattle). This has been often quoted as "It is with such baubles that men are led." COMPOSITION The President Of France is the Grand Master of the Order and appoints all other members of the Order—by convention, on the advice of the Government. Following Continental practice (unlike the British orders), the Legion of Honour has no Sovereign. Its principal officers are the Chancellor and Secretary-General. The Order has a maximum quota of 75 Grand Cross, 250 Grand Officers, 1,250 Commanders, 10,000 Officers and 113,425 (ordinary) Knights. As of 2000 the actual membership was 61 Grand Cross, 321 Grand Officers, 3,626 Commanders, 22,401 Officers and 87,371 Knights. Appointments of veterans of World War II , French military personnel involved in the North African Campaign and other foreign French military operations, as well as wounded soldiers, are made independently of the quota. The frenchmen are received in the order to the class of knight. To be promoted to a higher class, one must prove new services to France. The only exception is the President of the Republic, who is made a grand cross ''de jure'' upon his accession to the presidency. The foreigners are not received in the order ; instead they are decorated with the insignia of the légion. A foreigner can be decorated directly with the insignia of a higher class. In 1998 , all surviving veterans of World War I from any country who had fought on French soil were made Knights of the Legion if they were not so already, as part of the commemoration of the 80th anniversary of the war's end. In December 2004 , on the occasion of his 110th Birthday , France's oldest surviving veteran of the war, Franklin Flocquet, was promoted to Officer. Members convicted of severe crimes (''crimes'' in French) are dismissed '' De Jure '' from the order. Members convicted of lesser felonies (''délits'' in French) can be dismissed too. Wearing the decoration of the Legion of Honour without having the right to do so is an offense. Collective appointments can also be made to cities, companies or military units. In case of a military unit, its flag is decorated with the insignia of a knight. It's a different award than the Fourragère . INSIGNIA
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The badge or star is not worn usually, except at the time of the decoration ceremony or on a dress Uniform . Instead, one normally wears the ribbon or Rosette on one's suit. |
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