The French government gives out the
Legion of Honour awards, to both French and foreign nationals, based on a recipient's exemplary services rendered to France, or to the causes supported by France. This award is divided into five distinct categories (in ascending order
), i.e. three ranks:
Knight, Officer,
Commander
Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countries this naval rank is termed frigate captain.
...
, and two titles: Grand Officer and
Grand Cross. Knight is the most common and is awarded for either at least 20 years of public service or acts of military or civil bravery.
The rest of the categories have a quota for the number of years of service in the category below before they can be awarded. The Officer rank requires a minimum of eight years as a
Knight, and the Commander, the highest civilian category for a non-French citizen, requires a minimum of five years as an Officer. The Grand Officer and the Grand Cross are awarded only to French citizens, and each requires three years' service in their respective immediately lower rank.
[Alt URL]
/ref> The awards are traditionally published and promoted on 14 July.
See also
* Legion of Honour
* List of Legion of Honour recipients by name
* List of foreign recipients of Legion of Honour by name
* List of foreign recipients of the Legion of Honour by country
* List of British recipients of the Legion of Honour for the Crimean War
* Legion of Honour Museum
* Ribbons of the French military and civil awards
* War Cross (France)
References
External links
Official website
''Code de la légion d'honneur et de la médaille militaire''
legifrance.gouv.fr
on the website of the French Ministry of Culture {{in lang, fr