Does Bob Dylan's heroin use and his vocal
opposition to the Vietnam
War -which was a French war before the
U.S. took over - disqualify
him from appointment to the French Legion
of Honor?
Bob Dylan Considered 'Unworthy' of French Legion of Honor? (Le Figaro, France)
"According to Le Canard Enchaîné, Great Chancellor of the National Order of the
Legion of Honor Jean-Louis Georgelin has rejected Bob
Dylan's candidacy on the grounds he is 'unworthy' of the Legion. Is it that the
anti-establishment icon of Vietnam War protests and dissolute morals (he has
long been addicted to heroin) displeases the chancellor?"
Bob Dylan is awarded the Croix de Commandeur des Arts et Lettres (Arts and Literature Commander Cross) in Paris, in 1990. It now appears that due to his past, he may be denied an even higher honor -
Minister of Culture AurélieFilippetti wishes to present the award to the
genius of rock. But the Grand Chancellery is holding him back.
Too rebellious to be awarded
the highest honor of the French Republic? According to Le Canard Enchaîné, Great Chancellor of the National Order of
the Legion of Honor Jean-Louis
Georgelin has rejected Bob Dylan's candidacy on
the grounds he is “unworthy” of the Legion. Is it that the anti-establishment icon
of Vietnam War protests and dissolute morals (he has long been addicted to
heroin) displeases the chancellor?
“The Order's Council
has yet to meet to assess his candidacy. Nothing has been done yet,” the grand
chancellor tells Le Figaro - without
denying the allegations of the satirical newspaper.
Since 1990, Bob Dylan has
been a Commander of Arts and Letters, awarded by Culture Minister Jack
Lang. And we recall that in April 2009, then-president Nicolas Sarkozy wanted to meet the singer after one of his concerts
in Paris - a meeting commented on by Dylan himself in a
rare interview with the American magazine Rolling
Stone.
Contacted by Le Figaro, staff members of Culture Minister
AurélieFilippetti confirmed
the obviously sensitive issue, and her spokesman declined to comment.
As the designation
process is meant to work works, the culture minister gave Dylan's name to the Council
of the Order of the Legion of Honor. Then its seventeen members, chaired by the
grand chancellor, consider the proposal and decide.
“Fifteen percent of these
proposals are eliminated by the Council of the Order before ever being
submitted to the president of the republic,” the Grand Chancellery informs. ÉricCharden, unforgettable singer of the song Made in Normandie [Made in Normandy] was promoted before his death. Dearer to us
and more prestigious, Paul McCartney was the first to be decorated by President
François Hollande last September (see below).
Not to be rejected, the
candidate must fulfill a certain number of conditions: “The individual must
defend the values of France, serve its interests, or play a special role
between France and another country.”
Although during his
career, Bob Dylan has never fought for the identity of France, his “mémoire de proposition”(technical term for his application
of candidacy) would fall under the latter case.
The Grand Chancellery
also insists that appointments of foreign personalities remain symbolic: “Until
1870, a decree obliged appointees to take an oath to defend the state. Since
that was repealed, it has been impossible for foreigners to be members of the
Order of the Legion in the fullest sense of the term.”
