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GUIDE TO FRENCH ORDERS, DECORATIONS AND MEDALS
This brief overview of French orders, decorations and medals testifies to both the virtues that are worthy of awarding and the historical circumstances under which these decorations were established, but also the values promoted by the French state. In addition to prominent individuals, in exceptional cases these decorations can also be awarded to cities
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haleristics is an auxiliary science of history and numismatics that studies award decorations, their origin, development, organisational and legal characteristics, aesthetics, artistic expression and the social circumstances in which such decorations were introduced. This is a brief overview of French orders, the moments in history when they were introduced and the ideas that prompted their introduction.
THE NATIONAL ORDER OF THE LEGION OF HONOUR (ORDRE NATIONAL DE LA LÉGION D’HONNEUR) The highest French decoration, which was established on 19th May 1802 by Napoleon Bonaparte, who was then First Consul of the First Republic, as a recognition of military or civilian merit regardless of the origin, religious affiliation or place of birth (homeland) of the recipient (at the time this was a revolutionary idea that was completely in line with the ideas of the French Revolution), under the condition that the candidate to be decorated is committed to the fundamental ideas of the French Revolution, which were freedom, equality and fraternity. In line with Napoleonic ideas and ideals, membership in the National Order of the Legion of Honour is extremely egalitarian: recipients can be both women and men, civilians and military personnel, regardless of rank, status, birthplace or religious affiliation, so in principle people of any status can become members of the Order of the Legion of Honour. This Order is awarded in the ranks of knight, officer, commander, grand officer and grand cross. 32
Médaille Légion d’Honneur Ordonnance Chevalier
How Belgrade Has Been Decorated
In order to be nominated for the Order of the Legion of Honour (as a rule, a person cannot submit their own candidacy, but the Order can be entered posthumously, which was introduced after World War I), a person must have amassed 20 years of exceptional merit during peacetime (this applies to civilians) or to show exceptional courage during wartime (this applies to military personnel). The Order of the Legion of Honour for War Merit automatically includes the awarding of the Cross of War (Croix de Guerre), France’s highest military decoration. The Order of the Legion of Honour has 92,000 members. A total of 2,800 people can be decorated annually, both for military and civilian merit, with the award able to be granted to a maximum of 320 foreigners who, unlike French nationals, cannot be members of the Order. The motto of the Order is Honour and Motherland (Honneur et Patrie), and the seat of the Order of the Legion of Honour is in the Palace of the Legion of Honour (Palais de la Légion d’Honneur) situated on the left bank of the Seine in Paris. In exceptional cases, this order can also be awarded to a city, which was the case when French Marshal and Honorary Duke of the Serbian Army, Franchet d’Espèrey, presented this recognition to the City of Belgrade on 21st December 1920. Apart from Belgrade, only a few other cities outside France have received this decoration: Liege (Belgium), Luxembourg (Luxembourg), Volgograd (Russia), Algiers (Algeria), Brazzaville (Congo) and the latest in the group, London (United Kingdom), which received the award on 18th June this year.
