Legion of Honour (1802): Napoleon's Order of Merit for France

The Legion of Honour (Légion d’honneur) is France’s highest order of merit, founded by First Consul Napoleon Bonaparte by a law of 19 May 1802. Open to soldiers and civilians alike, regardless of birth, it replaced the royal orders abolished by the Revolution with a reward based on service to the nation. It has survived every regime since and is still awarded today.

Background

Before 1789 the French monarchy rewarded service with orders of chivalry such as the Order of the Holy Spirit and the Order of Saint Louis. In 1791 the French Revolution abolished these orders as symbols of aristocratic privilege. The revolutionary governments gave “arms of honour”, such as swords and muskets, to brave soldiers, but there was no national order.

After the Coup of 18 Brumaire, Bonaparte sought ways to strengthen his regime and reconcile old and new elites. He wanted an honour that would reward talent in both the army and civilian life and tie its holders to the state, while remaining faithful to the revolutionary principle of equality.

Creating the Legion

Bonaparte presented the project to the Council of State in May 1802. Many former revolutionaries objected that it would create a new privileged caste. In the debate he is reported to have remarked that it is with baubles that men are led, a comment recorded by the councillor Antoine Thibaudeau and often quoted ever since.

Opposition was real. The Tribunate approved the law by 56 votes to 38, and the Legislative Body by 166 to 110, unusually narrow margins for the time. The law of 29 Floréal, Year X (19 May 1802) created the Legion of Honour.

The original Legion was organised like a military body. It was divided into 15 regional “cohorts”, each with its own estates and revenues, and governed by a Grand Council headed by the First Consul. Members swore to serve the Republic and to oppose any attempt to restore feudalism. The naturalist Bernard-Germain de Lacépède became the first Grand Chancellor in 1803.

The first awards

The first insignia were presented on 15 July 1804, shortly after Napoleon was proclaimed Emperor, in a grand ceremony in the church of Les Invalides in Paris. A second ceremony followed on 16 August 1804 at the army camp of Boulogne, where troops were gathered for a planned invasion of Britain.

The badge, a white-enamelled star with five double points hanging from a red ribbon, carried Napoleon’s portrait in the centre. In 1805 a highest grade, the Grand Eagle, was added; it later became the Grand Cross.

Most early members were soldiers, but scientists, administrators, judges, artists and writers were also admitted. Napoleon used the Legion generously: tens of thousands of awards were made under the Empire. A school for the daughters of members was founded and later settled at Saint-Denis, where it still exists.

Survival after Napoleon

The restored Bourbon monarchy kept the Legion in 1814 rather than abolishing it, replacing Napoleon’s image on the badge with that of Henry IV. Each later regime, from the July Monarchy to the Second Empire and the Republics, kept the order while changing its symbols. In 1851 Marie-Angélique Duchemin, a veteran of the Revolutionary Wars, became the first woman admitted.

Under the Fifth Republic the order was reformed in 1962, and the Ordre national du Mérite was created in 1963 as a second, broader order. The President of the Republic is Grand Master, and the Grand Chancellery is based in the Hôtel de Salm in Paris, which also houses a museum of the Legion.

Ranks today

Members normally enter as chevalier and may be promoted after further years of distinguished service. The motto of the order is “Honneur et Patrie” (Honour and Fatherland).

Myths and facts

It is sometimes said that the Legion was purely military. In fact Bonaparte insisted from the start that civilians should be eligible, arguing that merit in civil life deserved reward as much as courage in battle. The order has also been awarded to many foreigners, though they are not formally members.

Timeline

• 1791: The Revolution abolishes the royal orders of chivalry.
• 1802, 19 May: The law founding the Legion of Honour is passed.
• 1803: Lacépède becomes the first Grand Chancellor.
• 1804, 15 July: First award ceremony at Les Invalides, Paris.
• 1804, 16 August: Award ceremony for the army at the camp of Boulogne.
• 1805: The Grand Eagle (later Grand Cross) is created.
• 1851, 15 August: Marie-Angélique Duchemin becomes the first woman admitted.
• 1962: A new code reforms the order under the Fifth Republic.

Why it matters

The Legion of Honour was one of Napoleon’s most lasting creations, alongside the Napoleonic Code. It turned the revolutionary idea of rewards based on merit into an institution that every later French government chose to keep, and it inspired similar orders in other countries.