Order of Merit (France)

The Order of Merit of Labor was established on January 21, 1957 and was intended to reward any person who distinguished himself by valiant professional work, long fruitful work, professional attitude to labor comrades-in-arms or exceptional labor achievements within the framework of his sphere of activity ^[1] .

The order was administered by the Minister of Social Security (later the Minister of Labor) and was governed by the Council of the Order. The council of the order consisted of 12 members (6 - ex officio and 6 - appointed for 4 years) ^[1] :

Member of the Council of the Legion of Honor ,

representative of the Minister of Social Affairs

Representative of the Secretary of State for Labor and Social Protection,

Director General for Labor and Labor,

Director of Labor

director of labor

Inspector General for Labor and Labor,

Representative of the National Federation of Honored Work Medal of France and the French Union,

representative of the Association of the best workers in France,

Representative of Overseas France (as agreed with the Minister of Overseas France),

representative of the Federation of construction and related professions companies,

representative of the General Confederation of Workers of Production Cooperative Societies.

The Chairman of the Council was elected annually from the members of the Council by voting. The statute and the first composition of the Council of the Order of Merit of Labor were approved on February 4, 1957 ^[2] .

The Order of Merit of Labor 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 Merit of Labor, they retained the right to bear the signs of the order and to use the benefits provided after its abolition ^[3] .

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

  Commander ( French Commandeur ) - a sign on a ribbon worn on the neck ^[4] ; highest degree of the order;

  Officer ( French Officier ) - a badge on a ribbon with a rosette worn on the left side of the chest ^[4] ;

  Cavalier ( French Chevalier ) - a badge on the ribbon, worn on the left side of the chest ^[4] .

The candidate for the order should be at least 35 years old, have at least 15 years of professional activity and enjoy civil rights. Awarding the officer’s degree of the order could be made no earlier than 10 years after receiving the cavalry degree, and the commander’s degree not earlier than 8 years after receiving the officer’s degree. In the case of special merit, the conditions for the candidate could be relaxed upon special consideration in the Order Council. Members of the Council of the Order of Merit of Labor became commanders of the order of law ^[1] .

Awarding of the order was made twice a year - January 1 and July 14 . In exceptional cases, awards could be made on another day ^[1] .

A limit was established on the number of annual awards: not more than 64 to the degree of commander, not more than 480 to the degree of officer and not more than 1,400 to the degree of gentleman. As an exception, for the first 10 years after the establishment of the order, it was allowed to give awards to the officer’s degree, and the first 8 years to the rank of commander, in a shortened inter-award period ^[1] .

Foreigners who permanently worked in France, as well as French citizens who worked abroad in institutions or branches of French institutions, could be awarded on the same grounds as French citizens who worked in France ^[1] .

The badge of the order is a round metal shield with a wide rim. The shield on the front side is burdened with the image of a measuring compass, between the legs of which below there is a small round medallion touching with its lower edge the lower edge of the shield. On the medallion is an image of the head of Minerva in a helmet, which depicts a Gallic rooster . Behind the compass, a square is shown (angle down), two hammers and two handles, coming out from behind a small medallion. The outer rim of the shield along the inner edge is graduated, and contains an indented inscription “MERITE DU TRAVAIL”. On the reverse side in the center there is a convex inscription in three lines “LIBERTÉ / ÉGALITÉ / FRATERNITÉ” and around the circumference - “REPUBLIQUE FRANÇAISE”. The free space of the shield on the front side is covered with dark green enamel. The hinge-head of the compass goes beyond the shield and serves as an eye for the ring through which the order ribbon is passed.

The sizes of the badges of cavaliers and officers are 36 mm, commanders are 40 mm. Signs of cavaliers - silver, officers and commanders - gilded ^[1] .

The ribbon of the order is dark green, 37 mm wide, with red, 3.5 mm wide, and white, 4.5 mm wide, stripes at the edges. For the officer degree, a socket from the same tape, with a diameter of 28 mm ^[1] .

For everyday wear on civilian clothes, sockets from the ribbon of the order are provided, and for wearing on uniforms - sash straps ^{[1] [4]} .

• 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 du travail : [ arch. 10/26/2014 ]: [ fr. ] . - Ordres et Decorations de France. - Date of appeal: 10.26.2014.