My father received notification that he is in consideration for the award of Légion d’Honneur (Chevalier). He already has the Ordre des Palmes Académique, which an acquaintance (not French) likened to a French knighthood, but I was unconvinced because it didn’t seem all that high-profile of an award.
Now the Légion d’Honneur is more of a high profile decoration (the highest civil?). So, what say you knowledgeable dopers, is the Légion d’Honneur (Chevalier) equivalent to, say, a British knighthood, or are the two really incomparable.
The palmes academiques (granted for actions benefiting education and knowledge) are ranked significantly lower than the legion of honor, which, as you mentionned, is the highest honor (civil or military, by the way). They’re still much sought after, though.
The legion of honor was originally intended (by Napoleon) as the equivalent of an order of knighthood. But you can’t compare it anymore to something like the order of the bath, if only since there’s no such thing as a “knight”, in the british sense, in France (even though the name has been retained).
Also, if I’m not mistaken, I think the number of recipients of the british order of the bath is much lower.
No offense to your father, but I think that the Legion d’honneur, as the highest honor, has been significantly devaluated by attributing it left and right to people I don’t think are exceptionnally deserving (elderly high ranking civil servants, CEOs, singers, whatever…).
Thanks clairobscur! I kind of had that feeling that it wasn’t really an equivalent, but some people were telling me otherwise, so I wanted to hear from someone who knew what they were talking about.
Years ago I wrote to him to congratulate him for the “Odor of academic palms” (he was not amused). I shall now begin preparing a congratulatory letter for his “Legion de Bonn-heur”.
Ha clairobscur, I thought you had deserted the board. What you say about the diluting of the honor that was the Legion d’Honneur is true, but it has been going on for probably more than a century now.
Isamu, if I was your father, I would get onto the process, it’s kind of cool to get it as a foreigner. In France, it is often considered like a medal to the conformists or the proficient dicksuckers (I mean it has lost a lot of its glory for Frenchmen).
Is there a way to get ‘onto’ the process? I’m not sure what you mean. Once you receive a letter from the embassy that you are in consideration, all you can do is wait around for the results, right?
I concur with **clairobscur **& Capitaine Zombie - these days they must have had crates of them shipped over from China & taking up space in the Republic’s attic or something. They can’t give them away fast enough.
You can also officially refuse. Which is probably a more prestigious thing to do, when you get right down to it - the list of people who did is much shorter than the list of bearers and your father would be in much better company ;).
