7:28 am: Macron does not rule out withdrawing the Legion of Honor from Putin
Emmanuel Macron did not rule out withdrawing the Legion of Honor awarded by his predecessor Jacques Chirac to Russian President Vladimir Putin in 2006, while explaining that he wanted to choose “the right time to do it”.
The Head of State presented Wednesday evening to Volodymyr Zelensky, passing through Paris during his second trip outside Ukraine since the start of the Russian invasion, the Grand Cross of the Legion of Honor. This is the highest distinction that a French president can award to a counterpart.
Asked by the press after a European summit in Brussels on the night of Thursday to Friday, he explained that this distinction was “an element of justice and recognition of our country” with regard to the Ukrainian president.