UN chief to receive Legion of Honor from French president

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon will receive the Legion of Honor from French President Francois Hollande during his farewell visit to France this week.

France’s U.N. Ambassador Francois Delattre told reporters that Hollande will make the U.N. chief a “Grand Officer of the Legion of Honor,” which was established in 1802 by Napoleon Bonaparte, at a ceremony in Paris on Thursday night.

Delattre called it “a very exceptional award, one of France’s highest, and one of the most coveted distinctions in the world.”

Ban will hand over the reins of the United Nations to Antonio Guterres on Jan. 1 after 10 years at the helm of the 193-member world organization.

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