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France launches process to revoke Assad's Legion of Honour

 

A woman walks near a picture of Syrian President Bashar al Assad in Damascus, Syria April 15, 2018. REUTERS/Ali Hashisho

 

PARIS (Reuters) - France has begun the process of stripping Syrian President Bashar al-Assad of his Legion of Honour award, the country’s highest distinction, a source in the French president's office said on Monday.

 

The move comes after President Emmanuel Macron, alongside the United States and Britain, ordered military strikes on Syrian targets in response to a suspected poison gas attack that killed dozens of people last week near the capital Damascus.

 

Assad was awarded the honour in 2001 by then French President Jacques Chirac.

 

Macron's government has said it plans to review the way the honour is awarded. In October it started the process of stripping Harvey Weinstein of his Legion of Honour too, after allegations of sexual harassment by the film producer emerged.

 

(Reporting by Michel Rose; Writing by Bate Felix; Editing by Hugh Lawson)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2018-04-17

[Swimman]

WOW  -- That will scare Assad for sure, 

[Andaman Al]

^^^

It also raises the question that if Assad has really been this badass to his people for as long as anyone can remember (as long as our Governments can now remember anyway) then why was he awarded the Honour in the first place?

[Expatthailover]

6 minutes ago, Andaman Al said:

^^^

It also raises the question that if Assad has really been this badass to his people for as long as anyone can remember (as long as our Governments can now remember anyway) then why was he awarded the Honour in the first place?

To be fair govts that should know better bestow honours on all sorts of villains.

Thatcher gave knighthoods to pinochet and ceacescu.

She even got oxford/cambridge to give ceacescus illiterate peasant wife some honorary degree

Let's not forget all the honours bestowed on jimmy savile and rolf harris when for years it was known both were wrong uns. 

20 20 hindsight is a great thing

Oh and the british govt had london university admit assad to finish off his medical studies when it was known his father had bought his medical degree.

Then again thatcher called mandela a terrorist

Edited April 17, 2018 by Expatthailover

[Andaman Al]

12 minutes ago, Expatthailover said:

Then again thatcher called mandela a terrorist

And your problem with that is? What's up are you one of these people that knew nothing about him but thought it was a nice catchy song? One man's terrorist is another mans freedom fighter. One could quite easily argue that the only difference between Bin Laden and Mandela is the scale of the operation and that Mandela was caught.

 

Mandela was on the US Government Terrorist watch list until 2008.

[klauskunkel]

Will the French have to send a government flunky to Syria's Dictator and ask for their medal back?

Or will a self-addressed envelope suffice?

Next time choose more wisely.

[Srikcir]

“State visits are occasions for the Légion d'Honneur to be given to official persons out of diplomatic reciprocity, as a way to buttress French foreign policy,”

Chirac awarded the Grand Cross of the Légion d'Honneur to Assad during an official visit to Paris in 2001. In 2006 Chirac attempted to bestow the Légion d'Honneur on Russian President Vladimir for diplomatic purposes.

2017: one group remains exempt from stricter scrutiny: foreign dignitaries given the medal for "diplomatic" purposes.

http://www.france24.com/en/20171104-foreign-dignitaries-france-highest-distinction-will-remain-shadowed-honour

The retraction of Assad's medal is a reversal by Macron.

Long overdue.

[Odysseus123]

19 minutes ago, Srikcir said:

“State visits are occasions for the Légion d'Honneur to be given to official persons out of diplomatic reciprocity, as a way to buttress French foreign policy,”

Chirac awarded the Grand Cross of the Légion d'Honneur to Assad during an official visit to Paris in 2001. In 2006 Chirac attempted to bestow the Légion d'Honneur on Russian President Vladimir for diplomatic purposes.

2017: one group remains exempt from stricter scrutiny: foreign dignitaries given the medal for "diplomatic" purposes.

http://www.france24.com/en/20171104-foreign-dignitaries-france-highest-distinction-will-remain-shadowed-honour

The retraction of Assad's medal is a reversal by Macron.

Long overdue.

"Long overdue."

 

Why?

[Morch]

7 hours ago, Andaman Al said:

^^^

It also raises the question that if Assad has really been this badass to his people for as long as anyone can remember (as long as our Governments can now remember anyway) then why was he awarded the Honour in the first place?

 

Assad took charge of Syria in 2000. The honor was bestowed on him in 2001. At the time, there was still some hope that he'll prove different from his old man, or that he could be swayed to take a different path.

[Odysseus123]

2 hours ago, car720 said:

yea but who isn't on some American watch list these days. 

 

Edited April 17, 2018 by Odysseus123

[Andaman Al]

2 hours ago, Morch said:

 

Assad took charge of Syria in 2000. The honor was bestowed on him in 2001. At the time, there was still some hope that he'll prove different from his old man, or that he could be swayed to take a different path.

So he had been in office a year. Even more remiss of France to bestow the honour in the first place.

[Morch]

36 minutes ago, Andaman Al said:

So he had been in office a year. Even more remiss of France to bestow the honour in the first place.

 

Well, less than a year, I think, if it matters. No too sure as why "even more remiss", though. The point of bestowing such honors is to improve relations, achieve more diplomatic influence. Not so much an actual recognition of merit or anything. Unless mistaken that's rather common, one way or another, when it comes to international relations.

[Credo]

7 hours ago, klauskunkel said:

Will the French have to send a government flunky to Syria's Dictator and ask for their medal back?

Or will a self-addressed envelope suffice?

Next time choose more wisely.

No, someone will have to go get it.   The postal system is currently having trouble delivering the mail.