Order of Civil Merit (France)

The Order of Civil Merit was established on October 14, 1957 and was intended to be rewarded for the long and fruitful service of employees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, as well as employees of local government and municipal authorities (departments and communes), public organizations and the like subordinate to the ministry ^[1] .

The order was administered by the Minister of the Interior and was governed by the Council of the Order. The Council consisted of 11 members (4 - ex officio and 7 - appointed by the Minister): ^[1]

Minister of the Interior (Chairman of the Council);

Member of the Council of the Order of the Legion of Honor (appointed by the Minister on the proposal of the Grand Chancellor of the Order of the Legion of Honor);

Director of the Office of the Minister;

Chief Secretary of the Ministry;

HR Director of the Ministry;

Six members from representatives of local government (appointed by the Minister).

The Order of Civil Merit was abolished by a decree of December 3, 1963, which established the National Order of Merit , replacing numerous departmental orders of merit. Awarded with the Order of Civil Merit retained the right to bear the signs of the order and enjoy the benefits and after its abolition ^[2] .

The Order of Civil Merit consisted of three degrees: ^[1]

  Commander ( French Commandeur ) - a sign on a ribbon worn on the neck ^[3] ; highest degree of the order;

  Officer ( French Officier ) - a badge on a ribbon with a rosette worn on the left side of the chest ^[3] ;

  Cavalier ( French Chevalier ) - a badge on the ribbon, worn on the left side of the chest ^[3] .

A candidate for the order should be at least 35 years old, enjoy civil rights and have at least 10 years of public service experience. Awarding the officer’s degree of the order could be made no earlier than 8 years after receiving the cavalry degree, and the commander’s degree no earlier than 5 years after receiving the officer’s degree. Officers and commanders of the Legion of Honor could be presented immediately to similar degrees of the Order of Civil Merit, bypassing the younger ones. Members of the Civil Merit Council of the Order became commanders of law ^[1] .

Awarding of the order was made twice a year - January 1 and July 14 .

A limit was established on the number of annual awards: not more than 10 to the degree of commander, not more than 60 to the degree of officer and not more than 200 to the degree of cavalier ^[1] .

As an exception, in the first year after the establishment of the order, it was allowed to reward in double quantity from the established limit, while the rule of inter-award period for the degrees of officer and commander was not taken into account. Also, for the first 8 years after the establishment of the order, it was allowed to award senior degrees in the shortened inter-award period, but at the same time: the cavalier, to obtain an officer’s degree, had to be at least 45 years old and have at least 18 years of service, and the officer , to obtain the degree of commander - 48 and 23 years, respectively ^[1] .

Foreigners residing in France could be awarded the order under the same conditions as French citizens. Foreigners living abroad could be awarded the order without taking into account the gradual and inter-award period. Awarding of foreigners was not taken into account in the annual quota of submissions to the award ^[1] .

The badge of the order is an eight-pointed star with thin rays superimposed on an eight-pointed small star with concave rays. The sign is covered on both sides with blue enamel and has a medallion without enamel in the center. On the front side of the central medallion is a profile image to the left of Marianne’s head in the Phrygian cap (symbolizing the Republic of France) and the inscription on the circumference - “RÉPUBLIQUE FRANÇAISE”. On the back of the medallion there is an inscription in seven lines - “ORDRE / DU / MÉRITE CIVIL / DU / MINISTÈRE / DE / L'INTÉRIEUR”.

The sizes of the badges of cavaliers and officers are 40 mm, the commanders are 60 mm. The badges of the cavaliers are silver, the officers are gilded, and the commanders are gold or gilded.

The sign through the pendant and the ring is attached to the order ribbon. Suspensions of the cavalier and officer in the form of a small slotted rectangle, and the suspension of the commander in the form of a slotted monogram "RF" inscribed in an inverted triangle ^[1] .

The ribbon of the order is blue, 37 mm wide, with a black stripe in the center, 2 mm wide, with a thin white border. To the officer’s tape is attached a socket from the same tape, with a diameter of 22 mm ^[1] .

For everyday wear on civilian clothes, sockets from the ribbon of the order are provided, and for wearing on uniforms - sash straps ^[3] .

• André Souyris-Rolland. Guide des ordres civils français et étrangers, des médailles d'honneur, des médailles de sociétés. - Paris: Préal - Supcam, 1979.- 148 p.
• Jacques Demougin. Les décorations françaises. - Paris: Trésor du patrimoine, 2003 .-- 95 p. - ISBN 2-911468-99-6 .

• Marc Champenois. Ordre du Mérite civil : [ arch. 10/26/2014 ]: [ fr. ] . - Ordres et Decorations de France. - Date of appeal: 10.26.2014.