Father Franois Laborde conferred with Légion d’Honneur

Father Franois Laborde a 92-year-old priest from Bengal was conferred with Légion d’Honneur (Legion of Honour) in recognition of his work for specially-abled and destitute children. Father Laborde has his roots in France and is the citizen of India now.
Father Laborde has set up an organisation called Howrah South Point which works for the development of specially-abled children, the destitute and the most deprived sections of the society.
Father Franois Laborde is the third person from the state of West Bengal to have been awarded the Legion of Honor. The honour has already been bestowed upon film maestro Satyajit Ray and actor Soumitra Chatterjee. Both of them also hails from the state of West Bengal.

Légion d’Honneur (Legion of Honour)

Légion d’Honneur (Legion of Honour) officially National Order of the Legion of Honour was instituted by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1802 as a general military and civil order of merit conferred without regard to birth or religion provided that anyone admitted swears to uphold liberty and equality.
The honour has been retained by all later French governments and regimes. It is the highest civilian award given by the French government for outstanding service and excellence in any field regardless of the nationality of the recipients.