Subject: Revocation of the Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour from Vladimir Putin

Mr. President of the Republic,
There are diplomatic legacies which, forged with the paradigms of a bygone era, transform over time into tragic moral burdens. In 2006, when President Jacques Chirac made the decision to elevate Vladimir Putin to the dignity of the Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour—the highest and most prestigious rank of this order—no one could have anticipated with certainty the totalitarian and murderous descent into which this man would plunge Europe a few years later.

History has its grey areas, but the present demands absolute clarity from us. Today, complacency is no longer permissible. Vladimir Putin is no longer merely a belligerent leader or a geopolitical adversary; he is an indicted criminal on a global scale. He is the subject of an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court, a warrant that is fully valid and enforceable on the territory of the French Republic, formally indicting him for war crimes.

Among these crimes, there is one that defies comprehension in its methodical cruelty: the mass deportation and abduction of Ukrainian children.

Mr. President, tearing children away from their parents, their culture, and their homeland is not merely collateral damage of war. It is the most despicable act imaginable. It is a strategy of mass destruction aimed at the soul of a nation, an attempt to erase a people through the forced assimilation of its youth. It is an unspeakable trauma inflicted upon the innocent. Maintaining France’s symbolic ties with the architect of this atrocity is an insult to the memory and suffering of these torn families.

The Legion of Honour is not a mere piece of red ribbon. Since its creation, it has embodied the courage, righteousness, and defense of the universal values that constitute the greatness of France. It has been worn by heroes, resistance fighters, and peacemakers. Leaving the highest distinction of the Republic on the chest of an individual hunted by international justice sullies this legacy. It is a stain on our national coat of arms and a rhetorical weapon left in the hands of those who orchestrate disinformation and attempt to prove that Europe has lost its moral compass.

The strict disciplinary code of the Order of the Legion of Honour provides for the possibility of revoking this distinction from anyone who renders themselves unworthy through acts contrary to honor. France has, indeed, known in the past how to initiate these expulsion procedures with courage and firmness for individuals who have failed in their moral and penal duties.

Today, the urgency is glaring. In the name of human dignity, in the name of absolute respect for international justice, and for the very integrity of France’s republican values, I urge you to immediately initiate the procedure to revoke the Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour awarded to Vladimir Putin.

History will judge those who committed these crimes, but it will also remember the names of those who had the courage to denounce them and to break decisively with the unacceptable.

Please accept, Mr. President of the Republic, the expression of my highest and most respectful consideration.

Paul Manandise,

Chief of the Department of International Influence and Culture at the National Security Information and Analysis Center of Ukraine