Legion of Honour

The Legion of Honour (French: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur)^[2] is the highest French award.

Legion of Honour Légion d'honneur
Chevalier (Knight) medal insignia
Awarded by France
Type	Order of merit
Motto	Honneur et patrie ("Honour and Motherland")
Eligibility	French citizen
Awarded for	Excellent civil or military conduct delivered, upon official investigation
Grand Master	President of France
Grand chancelier	Benoît Puga
Statistics
Established	19 May 1802; 223 years ago (1802-05-19)
First induction	14 July 1804
Precedence
Next (higher)	None
Next (lower)	Order of Liberation (ceased 24 January 1946)[1]
Order's streamer Grand-croix Grand officier Commandeur Officier Chevalier
Ribbon bars of the order

It was established by Napoleon Bonaparte on 19 May 1802.

The Order is the highest decoration in France and is divided into five degrees: Chevalier (Knight), Officier (Officer), Commandeur (Commander), Grand Officier (Grand Officer) and Grand Croix (Grand Cross).

The order's motto is Honneur et Patrie ('Honour and Country'), and its seat is the Palais de la Légion d'Honneur on the left bank of the River Seine in Paris.