The facts
France's highest decoration, the Légion d'honneur, is caught in a corruption investigation, The Times reported. Founded by Napoleon in 1802 to recognize exceptional achievement in military or civilian life, its red ribbon or rosette is worn in the left buttonhole.
Claims of cronyism and influence-peddling in the nomination of candidates led to the arrest of the former head of the body that administers it. General Benoît Puga, the grand chancellor of the Légion d'honneur from 2016 to 2023, was released without charge after being questioned in police custody last week. The allegations remain unproven, and prosecutors are continuing an inquiry into whether he improperly influenced the selection process. His job was to receive nominations from government ministers and chair the council that vetted candidates; final authority to approve or reject nominees rests with the president.
Investigators are examining whether Puga favored relatives or associates of Jean-Pierre Bansard, a late senator and businessman, and whether he received anything in return. Puga denies any wrongdoing. The inquiry began in 2023, a year before Bansard's death, after the investigative website Mediapart reported that at least 12 of his associates, including three of his children, had received decorations. One of Bansard's daughters received the Légion d'honneur in 2017, another received the National Order of Merit in 2018, and his son received the Légion d'honneur in 2018.
Investigators are also examining whether Puga helped secure honours in exchange for holidays in Corsica or meals at expensive restaurants. He has denied influencing the awards on anyone's behalf or receiving any direct or indirect benefit. No member of Bansard's family has been accused of wrongdoing. Puga's wife was also questioned last week, along with another former member of the Grand Chancellery, a restaurateur, and a businessman named Julien Renault. Renault, a lobbyist for property developers, established a body called the Foundation for the Légion d'honneur in 2019 that helped secure corporate donations to refurbish the Grand Chancellery's offices; French media have raised questions about whether donors could have been rewarded with honours, an allegation both Renault and the foundation reject.
Puga is a five-star general who served as military chief of staff to presidents Nicolas Sarkozy and François Hollande. Sarkozy was stripped of the decoration last year after a corruption conviction. The actor Gérard Depardieu, appealing a conviction for sexual assault, has faced calls for his award to be withdrawn. Past recipients have also included President Putin, the Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad, and Romania's Nicolae Ceausescu. About 79,000 people currently hold the Légion d'honneur.
Our take
General Benoît Puga spent years as a five-star dickhead briefing presidents on military shit only to get nailed for allegedly handing out France's fanciest medal like it was a loyalty card for holidays in Corsica and restaurant blowouts. Investigators claim he favored the relatives and cronies of dead senator Jean-Pierre Bansard, with at least twelve associates including three children scoring the Légion d'honneur or National Order of Merit. One daughter got hers in 2017, another picked up the lesser order in 2018, and the son landed the big red ribbon the same year. That's not merit, that's straight-up family discount bullshit.
Puga denies influencing any awards or pocketing direct or indirect benefits, which sounds like the standard prick defense when the evidence points to him chairing the vetting council that fed names to the president. Prosecutors keep digging into whether those Corsican trips and fancy feeds were the actual currency. His wife got questioned too, along with a restaurateur and lobbyist Julien Renault who set up a foundation to funnel corporate cash for office refurbishments. Questions swirl about whether donors bought their own ribbons, though Renault and the foundation call that crap.
The whole setup already stank before Puga's turn. Past holders include Putin, Assad, Ceausescu and Sarkozy who lost his after a conviction. Depardieu still clings to his while fighting sexual assault charges. With that roster, trading one for a week in Corsica isn't shocking, it's just the going rate for a five-star grifter who treated the buttonhole rosette like a timeshare timeshare. Napoleon started the thing to reward real achievement. Puga allegedly turned the red ribbon into a souvenir for whoever bought lunch.
