Creation of the Legion of Honour — 19 mai 1802

Napoleon instituted the Legion of Honour to reward military and civil merits. This distinction replaced the royal orders abolished by the Revolution and became a pillar of the imperial reward system.

Rewarding without restoring the orders

The Revolution had abolished the orders of chivalry as marks of privilege. The Consulate had nothing left to distinguish merit but arms of honour given to the brave. Bonaparte wanted a single order, open to soldiers and civilians alike, founded on merit rather than birth: "It is with baubles that men are led."

A close debate

The bill passed with difficulty: the Tribunate denounced a disguised aristocracy; the Council of State adopted it by fourteen votes to ten, the Legislative Body by one hundred and sixty-six to one hundred and ten. The law of 29 Floréal Year X organised sixteen cohorts endowed with national lands, with legionaries, officers, commanders and grand officers, all bound by an oath of loyalty.

An institution that outlived every regime

The first investiture took place at the Invalides on 15 July 1804, the second at the camp of Boulogne on 16 August before the massed army. By 1808 the order counted more than twenty thousand members, an overwhelming majority of them soldiers — social promotion through bravery became visible fact.

Abolished by no regime, the Legion of Honour remains France's foremost distinction, with the same motto engraved on the star: Honneur et Patrie.