Overview
- President Emmanuel Macron presented the insignia of Chevalier de la Légion d’honneur to George Lucas, Jodie Foster, Sigourney Weaver and Chris Meledandri at the Élysée Palace on Wednesday.
- French director Claude Lelouch received the insignia of Commandeur de l’ordre national du Mérite, a higher national rank roughly equivalent to a commander.
- Macron praised Meledandri for founding Illumination Studios Paris with Jacques Bled in 2011 and for backing the creation of France’s international tax credit in 2009, which he said helped make France more attractive for animation production.
- The Legion of Honor was created in 1802 by Napoleon and is France’s highest decoration given for service to the nation and public good.
- The ceremony highlighted how state awards are being used to honor both creative work and concrete industry support, a signal that France intends to keep courting international filmmakers and investments in its film economy.