Legion of Honour living when the honour was approved. Collective appointments can be made to cities, institutions or companies. A total of 64 settlements in France have been decorated, as well as five foreign cities: Liège in 1914, Belgrade in 1920, Luxembourg City in 1957, Volgograd in 1984, and Algiers in 2004. French towns display the decoration in their municipal coat of arms. Organisations to receive the honour include the French Red Cross ('), the ' (Abbey of), the French National Railway Company ('), the ' (Prefecture of Police of Paris), and various " (National (Elite) Colleges) and other educational establishments. The military
Legion of Honour distinctions (') are awarded for bravery (') or for service. For active-duty commissioned officers, the Legion of Honour award for service is achieved after 20 years of meritorious service, having been awarded the rank of of the . Bravery awards lessen the time needed for the award—in fact decorated servicemen become directly chevaliers of the , skipping the . NCOs almost never achieve that award, except for the most heavily decorated service members. Collective appointments can be made to military units. In the case of a military unit, its flag is decorated with the insignia of a knight, which is