Macron Awards Enaya Ezzeddine Legion of Honor

French President Emmanuel Macron has awarded the head of the Parliamentary Women and Children Committee MP Enaya Ezzeddine the French Legion of Honor of the rank of Knight in recognition of her roles in Lebanon’s public life, her press office said.

The Legion of Honor is the highest French order of merit for military and civil merits, established in 1802 by Napoleon Bonaparte and retained by all later French governments and régimes.

“Prior to his departure of Lebanon, French Ambassador Bruno Foucher informed Ezzeddine, through a letter, that President Macron had issued on September 23 a decree granting this order of merit to MP Ezzeddine,” the press office said.

“Foucher noted that the order of merit reflects the French president’s appreciation of the efforts exerted by Ezzeddine during her career in public affairs -- as a doctor and minister of state for administrative development affairs and for her ongoing work as the head of the Parliamentary Women and Children Committee,” the press office added.

“President Macron values Ezzeddine’s continuous struggle for securing the political rights of Lebanese women and her incessant demands for enabling Lebanese women to grant nationality to their children,” the office quoted Foucher as saying.

“Through her notable career, Ezzeddine represents an icon for Lebanese young women,” Foucher added.

Ezzeddine for her part thanked the French president, noting that this step comes in “the framework of the relations of friendship and cooperation between the two countries, which should continue and develop at the various levels.”

“The order of merit represents a motivation for her to carry on with her efforts for securing the conditions for social justice and sustainable development in Lebanon,” the press office added.

Ezzeddine is a member of Speaker Nabih Berri’s Amal Movement and Development and Liberation bloc.