The Legion of Honour, full name, National Order of the Legion of Honour (French: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur),[2] is the highest French order of merit for military and civil merits, established in 1802 by Napoléon Bonaparte and retained by all the divergent governments and regimes later holding power in France, up to the present.

The order's motto is "Honneur et Patrie" ("Honour and Fatherland"), and its seat is the Palais de la Légion d'Honneur next to the Musée d'Orsay, on the left bank of the River Seine in Paris.[3]

The order is divided into five degrees of increasing distinction: Chevalier (Knight), Officier (Officer), Commandeur (Commander), Grand Officier (Grand Officer), and Grand-Croix (Grand Cross).



In the French Revolution, all of the French orders of chivalry were abolished, and replaced with Weapons of Honour. It was the wish of Napoleon Bonaparte, the First Consul, to create a reward to commend civilians and soldiers and from this wish was instituted a Légion d'Honneur,[4] a body of men that was not an order of chivalry, for Napoleon believed France wanted a recognition of merit rather than a new system of nobility. The Légion however did use the organization of old French orders of chivalry for example the Ordre de Saint-Louis. The badges of the legion also bear a resemblance to the Ordre de Saint-Louis, which also used a red ribbon.

Napoleon originally created this to ensure political loyalty. The organization would be used as a façade to give political favours, gifts, and concessions.[5] The Légion was loosely patterned after a Roman legion, with legionaries, officers, commanders, regional "cohorts" and a grand council. The highest rank was not a grand cross but a Grand Aigle (grand eagle), a rank that wore all the insignia common to grand crosses. The members were paid, the highest of them extremely generously:

  • 5,000 francs to a grand officier,
  • 2,000 francs to a commandeur,
  • 1,000 francs to an officier,
  • 250 francs to a légionnaire.

Napoleon famously declared, "You call these baubles, well, it is with baubles that men are led... Do you think that you would be able to make men fight by reasoning? Never. That is good only for the scholar in his study. The soldier needs glory, distinctions, rewards."[6] This has been often quoted as "It is with such baubles that men are led."

The order was the first modern order of merit. Under the monarchy, such orders were often limited to Roman Catholics, and all knights had to be noblemen. The military decorations were the perks of the officers. The Légion, however, was open to men of all ranks and professions—only merit or bravery counted. The new legionnaire had to be sworn in the Légion.

It is noteworthy that all previous orders were crosses or shared a clear Christian background, whereas the Légion is a secular institution. The badge of the Légion has five arms.

First Empire

In a decree issued on the 10 Pluviôse XIII (30 January 1805), a grand decoration was instituted. This decoration, a cross on a large sash and a silver star with an eagle, symbol of the Napoleonic Empire, became known as the Grand Aigle ("Grand Eagle"), and later in 1814 as the Grand Cordon (big sash, literally big ribbon). After Napoleon crowned himself Emperor of the French in 1804 and established the Napoleonic nobility in 1808, award of the Légion gave right to the title of "Knight of the Empire" (Chevalier de l'Empire). The title was made hereditary after three generations of grantees.



The Légion d'honneur was prominent and visible in the French Empire. The Emperor always wore it and the fashion of the time allowed for decorations to be worn most of the time. The king of Sweden therefore declined the order; it was too common in his eyes. Napoleon's own decorations were captured by the Prussians and were displayed in the Zeughaus (armoury) in Berlin until 1945. Today, they are in Moscow.

The Legion of Honour under the Empire
As Emperor, Napoleon always wore the Cross and Grand Eagle of the Legion of Honour. 
Embroided insignia of the Legion of Honour, detail of Napoleon's uniform of colonel of the Chasseurs à cheval of the Imperial Guard. 
First Légion d'Honneur investiture, 15 July 1804, at Saint-Louis des Invalides by Jean-Baptiste Debret (1812). 

Restoration of the Kings of Bourbon in 1814

Louis XVIII changed the appearance of the order, but it was not abolished. To have done so would have angered the 35,000 to 38,000 members. The images of Napoleon and his eagle were removed and replaced by the image of King Henry IV, the popular first king of the Bourbon line. Three Bourbon fleurs-de-lys replaced the eagle on the reverse of the order. A king's crown replaced the imperial crown. In 1816, the grand cordons were renamed grand crosses and the legionnaires became knights. The king decreed that the commandants were now commanders. The Légion became the second order of knighthood of the French monarchy, after the Order of the Holy Spirit.

July Monarchy

Louis Philippe I, King of the French, wearing the sash of the order


Second Republic

Yet another revolution in Paris (1848) brought a new republic (the second) and a new design to the Légion d'honneur. A nephew of the founder, Prince Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte was elected president and he restored the image of his uncle on the crosses of the order. In 1852, the first recorded woman, Angélique Duchemin, an old revolutionary of the 1789 uprising against the absolute monarchy, was admitted into the order. On 2 December 1851, President Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte staged a coup d'état with the help of the armed forces. He made himself Emperor of the French exactly one year later on 2 December 1852, after a successful plebiscite.

Second Empire

An Imperial crown was added. During Napoleon III's reign, the first American was admitted: Dr. Thomas Wiltberger Evans, dentist of Napoleon III.

Third Republic

In 1870 the defeat of the French Imperial Army in the Franco-Prussian War brought the end of the Empire and the creation of the Third Republic (1871–1940). As France changed, the Légion d'honneur changed as well. The crown was replaced by a laurel and oak wreath. In 1871, during the Paris Commune uprising, the Hôtel de Salm, headquarters of the Légion d'Honneur, was burned to the ground in fierce street combats; the archives of the order were lost.

In the second term of President Jules Grévy which started in 1885, newspaper journalists brought to light the trafficking of Grévy's son-in-law, Daniel Wilson, in the awarding of decorations of the Légion d'Honneur. Grévy was not accused of personal participation in this scandal, but he was slow to accept his indirect political responsibility, which caused his eventual resignation on 2 December 1887.

During World War I, some 55,000 decorations were conferred, 20,000 of which went to foreigners. The large number of decorations resulted from the new posthumous awards authorised in 1918. Traditionally membership in the Légion d'Honneur could not be awarded posthumously.

Fourth Republic

The establishment of the Fourth Republic in 1946 brought about the latest change in the design of the Legion of Honour. The date "1870" on the obverse was replaced by a single star.


Legal status and leadership


Grand Master

Since the establishment of the Legion, the Grand Master of the order has always been the Emperor, King or President of France. President Emmanuel Macron became the Grand Master of the Legion on 14 May 2017.

The Grand Master appoints all other members of the order, on the advice of the Government. The Grand Master's insignia is the Grand Collar of the Legion, worn only by the President of the Republic, as Grand Master of the Order.

The Grand Chancery


The Grand Chancery also regulates the National Order of Merit and the médaille militaire (Military Medal). There are several structures funded by and operated under the authority of the Grand Chancery, like the Legion of Honour Schools (Maisons d'éducation de la Légion d'Honneur) and the Legion of Honour Museum (Musée de la Légion d'Honneur). The Legion of Honour Schools are élite boarding schools in Saint-Denis and Les Loges in the forest of Saint-Germain-en-Laye. Study there is restricted to daughters, granddaughters, and great-granddaughters of members of the order, the médaille militaire or the ordre national du Mérite.[8]


There are five classes in the Legion of Honour:

  • Chevalier (Chev. L.H.) (Knight): minimum 20 years of public service or 25 years of professional activity with "eminent merits"
  • Officier (O.L.H.) (Officer): minimum 8 years in the rank of Chevalier
  • Commandeur (Cdr L.H.) (Commander): minimum 5 years in the rank of Officier
  • Grand Officier (G.O.L.H.) (Grand Officer): minimum 3 years in the rank of Commandeur
  • Grand Croix (G.C.L.H.) (Grand Cross): minimum 3 years in the rank of Grand Officier

The "eminent merits" required to be awarded the order require the flawless performance of one's trade as well as doing more than ordinarily expected, such as being creative, zealous and contributing to the growth and well-being of others.

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 2010, the actual membership was 67 Grand Cross, 314 Grand Officers, 3,009 Commanders, 17,032 Officers and 74,384 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.


Wearing the decoration of the Légion d'honneur without having the right to do so is a serious offence. Wearing the ribbon or rosette of a foreign order is prohibited if that ribbon is mainly red, like the ribbon of the Legion of Honour. French military personnel in uniform must salute other military members in uniform wearing the medal, whatever the Légion d'honneur rank and the military rank of the bearer. This is not mandatory with the ribbon. In practice, however, this is rarely done.

There is not a single, complete list of all the members of the Legion in chronological order. The number is estimated at one million, including about 2,900 Grand Cross.[9]

French nationals

French nationals, men and women, can be received into the Légion, for "eminent merit" (mérites éminents) in military or civil life. In practice, in current usage, the order is conferred to entrepreneurs, high-level civil servants, scientists, artists including famous actors and actresses, sport champions[10] as well as others with connections in the executive. Members of the French Parliament cannot receive the order, except for valour in war,[11] and ministers are not allowed to nominate their accountants.

Until 2008, French nationals could only enter the Legion of Honour at the class of Chevalier (Knight). To be promoted to a higher class, one had to perform new eminent services in the interest of France and a set number of years had to pass between appointment and promotion. This was however amended in 2008 when entry became possible at Officer, Commander and Grand Officer levels, as a recognition of "extraordinary careers" (carrières hors du commun). In 2009, Simone Veil became the first person to enter the Order at Grand Officer level.[12] Veil was a member of the Académie française, a former Health Minister and President of the European Parliament, as well as an Auschwitz survivor. She was promoted to Grand Cross in 2012.

The acceptance of being awarded the Legion of Honour is not mandatory. The composers Maurice Ravel[13] and Charles Koechlin, for example, declined the award when it was offered to them.[citation needed]

Non-French recipients

While membership in the Légion is technically restricted to French nationals,[14] foreign nationals who have served France or the ideals it upholds[15] may receive the honour.[16] Foreign nationals who live in France are subject to the same requirements as the French. Foreign nationals who live abroad may be awarded a distinction of any rank or dignity in the Légion. Foreign heads of state and their spouses or consorts of monarchs are made Grand Cross as a courtesy. American and British veterans who served in either World War I on French soil,[17] or during the 1944 campaigns to liberate France,[18][19] may be eligible for appointment as Chevalier of the Legion of Honour, provided they were still living when the honour was approved.

Collective awards

Collective appointments can be made to cities, institutions or companies. A total of 64 settlements in France have been decorated, as well as five foreign cities: Liège in 1914, Belgrade in 1920, Luxembourg City in 1957, Volgograd in 1984, and Algiers in 2004. French towns display the decoration in their municipal coat of arms.

Organisations to receive the honour include the French Red Cross (Croix-Rouge Française), the Abbaye de Nôtre-Dame des Dombes (Abbey of Notre-Dame des Dombes), the French National Railway Company (SNCF, Société Nationale des Chemins de fer Français), the Préfecture de Police de la Ville de Paris (Prefecture of Police of Paris), and various Grandes Écoles (National (Elite) Colleges) and other educational establishments.

Military awards

Notice of posthumous award of the Croix de Chevalier to lieutenant Tessier—Mort pour la France ("Died for France") in World War I


  • award for extreme bravery: the Légion d'Honneur is awarded jointly with a mention in dispatches. This is the top valour award in France. It is rarely awarded, mainly to soldiers who have died in battle.
French service-members

For active-duty commissioned officers, the Legion of Honour award for service is achieved after 20 years of meritorious service, having been awarded the rank of Chevalier of the Ordre National du Mérite. Bravery awards lessen the time needed for the award—in fact decorated servicemen become directly chevaliers of the Légion d'Honneur, skipping the Ordre du Mérite. NCOs almost never achieve that award, except for the most heavily decorated service members.

Collective military awards

Collective appointments can be made to military units. In the case of a military unit, its flag is decorated with the insignia of a knight, which is a different award than the fourragère. Twenty-one schools, mainly schools providing reserve officers during the World Wars, were awarded the Légion d'Honneur. Foreign military units can be decorated with the order, such as the U.S. Military Academy.

The Flag or Standard of the following units was decorated with the Cross of a Knight of the Legion of Honour:[20]

Classes and insignia

The five classes wearing their respective insignia (gentlemen): 1: Chevalier; 2: Officier; 3: Commandeur; 4: Grand Officier; 5: Grand'Croix.


  • Three ranks:
  • Two dignities:



The ribbon for the medal is plain red.

The badge or star is not usually worn, except at the time of the decoration ceremony or on a dress uniform or formal wear. Instead, one normally wears the ribbon or rosette on one's suit.


See also

References and notes

  1. ^ le petit Larousse 2013 p1567
  2. ^ Formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour (Ordre royal de la Légion d'honneur)
  5. ^ Jones, Colin. The Cambridge Illustrated History of France (1st ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 196. ISBN 0-521-43294-4. 
  6. ^ Antoine Claire Thibaudeau (1827). Mémoires sur le Consulat. 1799 à 1804 [Memories of the Consulate, 1799–1804] (in French). Paris: Chez Ponthieu et Cie. pp. 83–84. 
  7. ^ The first recorded women's award is 1851, under Louis-Napoleon Bonaparte.
  8. ^ "Modalités d'admission". Maison d’éducation de la Légion d’honneur. Archived from the original on 25 December 2013. 
  9. ^ Wattel, Michel; Wattel, Béatrice (2009). Les Grand'Croix de la Légion d'honneur. De 1805 à nos jours, titulaires français et étrangers. Archives et Culture. 
  10. ^ All Olympic Gold Medal winners are awarded the Légion.
  11. ^ Légion Code, article R22
  12. ^ "Simone Veil grand officier de la légion d'honneur". Le Nouvel Observateur (in French). Paris. 31 December 2008. Retrieved 25 August 2015. 
  13. ^ 1927-, Watkins, Glenn, (2003-01-01). Proof through the night music and the great war. University of California Press. ISBN 9780520927896. OCLC 937278246. 
  14. ^ Légion Code, article 16
  15. ^ "Les étrangers qui se seront signalés par les services qu’ils ont rendus à la France ou aux causes qu’elle soutient", Légion Code, article 128
  16. ^ "5 Things to Know about the Legion of Honor". US News and World Report. Retrieved 24 August 2015. 
  17. ^ "The London Gazette: 15 October 1998. Issue: 55282. Notice ID:L-55282-24SI". 
  18. ^ "MOD press release: 25 July 2014. Legion d'Honneur awarded to surviving veterans of 1944 French campaigns". 
  19. ^ The Legion d’Honneur for US veterans
  20. ^ Officially military units are not members of the Legion of Honour, which include only individuals. As for foreign Legionnaires, they are "decorated with the Legion of Honour insignia", not "member of the Legion of Honour". Do not confuse military units that received the fourragère to the colour of the ribbon of the Legion of Honour (units quoted at six, seven or eight times in the order of the army with military units whose flag is decorated with the Cross of the Legion of Honour
  21. ^ "The Legion of Honor in 10 questions". The Grand Chancery of the Legion of Honor. Retrieved 18 September 2017. 

External links

Coordinates: 48°51′37″N 2°19′29″E﻿ / ﻿48.8602°N 2.3247°E﻿ / 48.8602; 2.3247