France confers Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour on PM Modi
France confers the Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour on PM Narendra Modi, the highest civilian and military honour.
France has conferred the Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour, the highest of the country’s civilian and military honours, on Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The award was presented to Modi by President Emmanuel Macron following a private dinner hosted by the French leader at the Élysée Palace in Paris on Thursday evening. Modi thanked Macron for “this singular honour on behalf of the people of India”, the external affairs ministry said.
The dinner was the final engagement on the first day of Modi’s two-day visit to France.
“I thank President @EmmanuelMacron and Mrs. Macron for hosting me at the Élysée Palace this evening,” Modi tweeted.
External affairs ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi described the award as a “warm gesture embodying the spirit of India-France partnership”.
Modi is the first Indian premier to receive this honour. In the past, the Grand Cross of the Legion of Honor has been awarded to prominent leaders and eminent personalities from around the world, including former South African president Nelson Mandela, former German chancellor Angela Merkel and former UN secretary-general Boutros Boutros-Ghali.
In June, Egypt conferred the Order of the Nile on Modi. He also received the Order of the Druk Gyalpo from Bhutan in 2021, the Legion of Merit from the US in 2020, the Order of St Andrew from Russia in 2019, the Order of Zayed from the UAE in 2019, and the Order of Abdulaziz Al Saud from Saudia Arabia in 2016.
