Legion of Honour Legion of Honour The Legion of Honour (full name: National Order of the Legion of Honour; ) is the highest French order of merit for military and civil merits, established in 1802 by Napoleon Bonaparte and retained by all the divergent governments and regimes later holding power in France, up to the present. The order's motto is ' ("Honour and Fatherland"), and its seat is the Palais de la Légion d'Honneur next to the Musée d'Orsay, on the left bank of the Seine in Paris. The order is divided into five degrees of increasing distinction: ' (Knight), ' (Officer), '
Legion of Honour is headed by the Grand Chancellor, usually a retired general, and the Secretary General, a civilian administrator. The Grand Chancery also regulates the National Order of Merit and the ' (Military Medal). There are several structures funded by and operated under the authority of the Grand Chancery, like the Legion of Honour Schools (') and the Legion of Honour Museum ('). The Legion of Honour Schools are élite boarding schools in Saint-Denis and Les Loges in the forest of Saint-Germain-en-Laye. Study there is restricted to daughters, granddaughters, and great-granddaughters of members of the order, the ' or the ". There