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), '
Bien mérité de la Patrie "Bien mérité de la Patrie". These resolutions were published in "Le Moniteur Universel", in a manner similar to being mentioned in dispatches. The practice was pursued under the French Consulate, which furthermore instituted the award of Weapons of Honour for the military, and scarfs of honour to civilians. These were replaced by the Legion of Honour, founded by Bonaparte on 9 May 1802, morphing the award back into an order of chivalry (however, the Legion was awarded without reference to the distinction between noble and non-noble). The term ""bien mérité de la Patrie"", or the close ""bien mérité du pays"",