In France, the Legion of Honor is awarded to as many women as men, including former First Lady of France, Bernadette Chirac
March 27, 2008
France’s highest honor, the Legion of Honor, is awarded to Bernadette Chirac and 332 other women, as well as 330 men.
Current President of France Nicolas Sarkozy first made the request for gender parity in the awarding of Legion d’Honneur appointments. This was honored for the first time, delaying the January 1 announcements of the Legion of Honor appointees.
Among the honorees were Bernadette Chirac, France’s former First Lady, Francis Joyon, the French sailor who completed a solo voyage around the world last January, actor Christian Clavier and tenor Roberto Alagna, among others, in the fields of culture, sports, philosophy, service and other categories. Some honorees were appointed to the Legion for the first time, while others were promoted within the ranks. There are a number of grades in the Legion, and new achievements are required for promotion.
The Legion d’Honneur was created in France in 1802 by Napoleon to reward outstanding military and civil services to France. The individual must have a minimum of 20 years of public service or professional activity and have attained outstanding achievement.
The former First Lady of France was honored due her role as President of the Hospital Foundation of Paris. She was born Bernadette Chodron de Courcel on 18 May 1933 in Paris; she was married to Jacques Chirac on 16 March 1956.
The admission of women to the orders of chivalry is a relative innovation in France. Until the mid-19th century, no woman, not even a sovereign, could wear the official insignia of recognition in France. Modern progress in France is such that now as many women as men are being inducted, though there is still some grumbling that there remains a disparity at the higher ranks.
Foreign nationals from countries other than France have been accepted into the Legion of Honor since its inception. They are admitted but not inducted. American recipients of the French Legion of Honor this year include Lee Radziwill, sister of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis for her work in world health, and editor of the International Herald Tribune, John Vinocur. Other Americans to receive the French award include Julia Child, for introducing the cuisine of France to America, actors Jerry Lewis and Gregory Peck, the wine critic Robert Parker, and Gen. H. Norman Schwarzkopf.
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