Sarkozy's Legion of women.

What is shared by Claudia Cardinale, the Italian actress [left], Pierre Giacometti, President Sarkozy's favourite pollster, and Ivan Ciganer-Albeniz, the businessman brother of the former Cécilia Sarkozy ?

They have all just been elevated to or promoted in the Légion d'Honneur, the distinction for outstanding service to the French Republic. This is Sarkozy's second handout of twice-yearly honours since his election and, in keeping with the new-style French monarchy, the New Year's list is different. Half the recipients are women. 

Last November, Sarko threw back the list of 1,340 names because it was 70 percent male and dominated by the usual high functionaries of state, local government officials and businessmen. Following the example of Tony Blair and his modernised British honours, Sarko wanted more women, non-whites and "ordinary people" like school teachers and charity workers. The Legion fonctionnaires went back to work, erased a few hundred old white men and, one month late, came up with new "feminized and diverse" Légion d'Honneur.   

The top female awards went to Christiane Desroches-Nobelcourt, an Egyptologist, Sister Emmanuelle, a much-loved charity founder, and Cardinale, who was raised to Commander from the rank of Officer, to which her friend Jacques Chirac had appointed her a few year ago. Among other women celebrities, the entry-level Chevalier rank went to Muriel Robin, a popular actress and Marie-Claude Pietragalla, the dancer-choreographer

 

Other new arts chevaliers are Jean-Louis Scherrer, the couturier, Jean-Paul Guerlain, the perfumier, Willy Ronis, the great photographer of the post-war years and Michel Polnareff a 1970s pop star who returned to acclaim last year after three decades of self-exile in the USA.

France may not officially be a monarchy, but its establishment remains deeply attached to its graded system of honours. These are supposed to reward "eminent merit" and only go to people of irreproachable moral character.

Unlike the British orders, which are only worn on ceremonial occasions, members of the Legion or the Order of Merit, can show off their rank every day with a discreet red ribbon or rosette sewn into their jacket lapels.

At ministerial dinners or establishment cocktail parties almost everyone sports the magic thread -- even some journalists (at least those on le Figaro). You even see the ribbon on people doing their food shopping in the better quarters of Paris.   

Napoleon Bonaparte knew what he was doing when he invented the Legion to replace the defunct royal orders in 1802. France loves honours, he told sceptical lieutenants. "You may call them baubles, but it's with baubles that you lead men." The Emperor used his baubles to reward loyalists and inspire rivalry.  Modern French rulers do the same. Sarko, for example, included on his new list Isabelle Balkany, a vice-president of a Paris suburban council, who is a close friend. Eyebrows have also been raised by the elevation of the former first brother-in-law, who lives in Peru.

Comments

[dot king]

"Michel Polnareff . . ."
"eminent merit" "irreproachable moral character." (from CB's article)

this person of irreproachable moral character is also famous for having his bum photographed and huge posters of it displayed in public

general outcry - poor bloke felt misunderstood and took off to the States (where they understand this kind of thing ;} )

obviously a well-earned honour

[dot king]

Tell me, someone:
did they add more names to balance the number of women and non-whites and ordinary people?
or did they take some male-white-high-ranking names off the list and replace them with new names in the "women, non-whites ordinary people" category?
do these make up one or three categories?
are there any people on the list who fill all three criteria, eg an non-white female assistante sociale?
who decides?
is there a secretary of state with special responsibility for lists?

riveting stuff . . .
Her Madge could hardly do better :)

[Rocket]

Charles,

How come :-) doesn't come out as a little yellow smiley face on your blog.

Is there a way you can make it so?

I typed in :-) in another blog and I got the little yellow smiley face on the published post.

[Dominique]

Dot King,

Polnareff did not leave France because of his photographed bum being on the walls...Tht was rather funny.

He left for tax purposes : he did not want to pay his taxes.

That is more a reason for not granting him the légion d'honneur...

[mtine]

in fact Polnareff who was revered and never forgotten in France, was made bankrupt by his accountant and made a new life in the States.About time he should get the legion d'honneur!

[Mauvezin]

are there any people on the list who fill all three criteria,
**************
Think about !
You've to ask for the LH
For civil servants the LH is only a trinket and for military service is worth for the non commissioned officer .
For officers the really high reward is the "medaille militaire"

[dot king]

Sorry, I didn't quite mean that Polnareff left France because of the buttocks photo - I should have expressed myself more clearly - but I watched a TV documentary about him, not knowing what all the fuss was about - La Légende Polnareff - then realised that a lot of his songs have remained and become French popular "standards".
But in that programme it was said that he felt he wasn't understood in France and so took off to the USA. I can see that taxation might have driven him away as it does so many others.

Are American tax-men more understanding than French ones?

[Ros]

ROCKET says "How come :-) doesn't come out as a little yellow smiley face on your blog.Is there a way you can make it so?" - I've already asked this question several times but silence from Charles - in other Blogs one can add Smilies, pictures etc - why do we here have to be so serious? Of course I have no knowledge of technology .........

[dot king]

What puzzles me most is why Rocket suddenly needs smileys! ;0

[dot king]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qfVtycu6WVQ

qui a les meilleures fesses?
à qui l'honneur?