French president Emmanuel Marcon awarded Jeff Bezos with the highest order of merit recently, the Legion d’Honneour or Legion of Honour.
The award was criticized by the French people who have been marching against pension reform with critics calling Macron the president of the rich.
The ceremony was held at the Elysee Palace. One critic Leila Chaibi said, “while we were marching against his pension reform, Marcon awarded you a decoration in France’s name for avoiding billions in tax, destroying the planet and spying on staff. A well-earned prize from the president of the rich.”
The Legion
Macron plans to raise the retirement age in France to 64. His political opponents including Francois Piquemal who is a lawmaker for the left wing La France Insoumise party tweeted:
“Always and forever, everything for the rich, nothing for the people.”
His colleague Alma Dufour condemned Macron for honoring a man who she says “contributed to the destruction of 85,000 retail jobs in France. Tell me who your friends are, I’ll tell you who you are.”
According to the Guardian, Bezos was designated as a member of the Legion d’ Honneur 10 years ago.
Although Bezos seemed oblivious to being surrounded by hostility, his girlfriend Lauren Sanchez went all out on Instagram showering her billionaire boyfriend with love and affection. “The most magical day celebrating you surrounded by friends and family. #Legionofhonor.”
Bezos isn’t the first person to be awarded with the Legion d’honneur. In 2017, French president Francois Hollande presented Bill Gates and his wife Melinda with the same award for their contribution to charity.
The order of merit was first started by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1802. The award is open to men of all ranks and professions and where foreigners are concerned it is often conferred on those who have served France in some way. Former recipients include Miles Davis, Walt Disney, Bob Dylan and Steven Speilberg.
Bezos is still chairman of Amazon although he stepped down as Amazon’s CEO in 2021. In 2020 he met with Macron and discussed sustainability initiatives and his Bezos Earth Fund.
