Medal of the Nation's Gratitude

(Redirected from Médaille de reconnaissance de la Nation) Award

Medal of the Nation's Gratitude
Medal of the Nation's Gratitude with North Africa clasp
Type	Civil and Military Award
Awarded for	Recipients of the Certificate of the Nation's Gratitude
Presented by	France
Status	Currently Awarded
Established	12 April 2002

Ribbon of the Medal of the Nation's Gratitude

Precedence
Equivalent	North Africa medal
Next (lower)	French commemorative medal

The Medal of the Nation's Gratitude (French: "Medaille de Reconnaissance de la Nation") is a French state decoration established on 12 April 2002 by decree 2002-511 and awarded to civilians, veterans of civil or military service, and to members of the French armed forces previously awarded the "Title of the Nation's Gratitude", a governmental scroll certifying to honorable service abroad.

The medal was primarily established to replace the North Africa medal with broader and more inclusive prerequisites following years of pressure on the French government by veterans' organizations.

Award statute

The Medal of the Nation's Gratitude is awarded to persons who have previously been awarded the Title of the Nation's Gratitude, its particular award criteria were fixed by law No. 93-7 of 4 January 1993. Potential recipients must meet the following conditions:

People who, as members of the military, and for at least 90 days, consecutive or not, served in a formation of the French army or who were detached to a foreign army during the time periods and in the theatres of operation determined by the law;
Civilians of French nationality who were involved in these conflicts, operations or missions and meeting the prerequisites set by the Minister of Defence.

The Title of the Nation's Gratitude is automatically bestowed to personnel prematurely evacuated due to injuries suffered or diseases caught while in theatre.

The list of theatres of operations determined by the laws of eligibility for the Title of the Nation's Gratitude are:

First World War;
Operations between 1918 and 1939;
Second World War;
Indochina War;
The fighting in Tunisia between 1 January 1952 and 2 July 1962;
The fighting in Morocco between 1 June 1953 and 2 July 1962;
The Algerian War between 31 October 1954 and 2 July 1962;
Military operations on the territory of Algeria between 3 July 1962 and 1 July 1964;
Armed conflicts and operations and missions conducted in accordance with international obligations and commitments of France since 1945. The complete list is contained in the amended order of 12 January 1994.

Award description

The Medal of the Nation's Gratitude is a 34mm in diameter circular medal struck from bronze and gilded. Its obverse bears the effigy of the Republic on surrounded by the relief inscription "RÉPUBLIQUE FRANÇAISE" (English: "FRENCH REPUBLIC"). The reverse bears the relief inscription on four lines "MÉDAILLE" "DE" "RECONNAISSANCE" "DE LA NATION" (English: "MEDAL" "OF" "GRATITUDE" "OF THE NATION") over the relief image of a sprig of three oak leaves.

The medal hangs from a ribbon passing through a ring through the medal's ball shaped suspension loop. The 34mm wide sand coloured silk moiré ribbon bears inverted 34mm wide and 3mm thick blue chevrons. The undress ribbon bears three such chevrons.

The medal is always awarded with a clasp and may be awarded with multiple clasps. Five clasps are currently approved for wear on the ribbon of the Medal of the Nation's Gratitude:

1914–1918
1939–1945
INDOCHINE (English: INDOCHINA)
AFRIQUE DU NORD (English: NORTH AFRICA)
OPERATIONS EXTERIEURES (English: FOREIGN OPERATIONS)

Notable recipients (partial list)

General Denis Mercier
General Marcel Valentin
General Bruno Dary
Admiral Édouard Guillaud
General Philippe Houbron
General Elrick Irastorza
General Bertrand Ract-Madoux
Sergeant Gilles Mourey
French Resistance heroine Andrée Peel
French Resistance member Léopold Rabinovitch
World War 2 intelligence operative Marthe Cohn

References

^ "France Phaléristique web site" (in French). Marc Champenois. 2004-01-01. Retrieved 2013-10-06.
^ Battini, Jean; Zaniewicki, Witold (2003). Guide pratique des décorations françaises actuelles. Paris: LAVAUZELLE. ISBN 2-7025-1030-2.
"Decree n° 93-7 of the President of the French Republic of 4 January 1993" (in French). LégiFrance. 1993-01-04. Retrieved 2016-11-18.
^ "Decree n° 2002-511 of the President of the French Republic of 12 April 2002" (in French). LégiFrance. 2002-04-14. Retrieved 2016-11-18.
^ "Decree n° 77-371 of the President of the French Republic of 7 January 1977" (in French). LégiFrance. 1977-01-14. Retrieved 2016-11-18.

External links

Museum of the Legion of Honour (in French)
National Association of the bearers of the Title of the Nation's Gratitude (in French)

Orders, decorations, and medals of France

Orders

National	Order of the Legion of Honour Order of Liberation Order of Merit
Ministerial	Order of Academic Palms Order of Agricultural Merit Order of Maritime Merit Order of Arts and Letters
Territorial	Order of Tahiti Nui

Decorations and medals

Civilian

Military

Commemorative medals

1852 – 1871: Second Empire	Saint Helena Medal Commemorative medal of the 1859 Italian Campaign Commemorative medal of the 1860 China Expedition Commemorative medal of the Mexico Expedition
1871–1914: Belle Époque	Commemorative medal of the 1870–1871 War Tonkin Expedition commemorative medal (1885) Dahomey Expedition commemorative medal (1892) Madagascar Expeditions commemorative medal Colonial Medal China Expedition commemorative medal (1901) Morocco commemorative medal (1909)
1914–1918: World War I	1914–1918 Inter-Allied Victory medal Dardanelles campaign medal Orient campaign medal Commemorative medal of the 1914–1918 War Medal of French Gratitude Medal for Victims of the Invasion Medal for civilian prisoners, deportees and hostages of the 1914-1918 Great War
1918–1939: Interwar	Syria-Cilicia commemorative medal
1939–1945: World War II	Commemorative medal for voluntary service in Free France Italian Campaign medal Medal for deportation and internment for acts of resistance Political deportation and internment medal Commemorative medal of the 1939–1945 War Medal of a liberated France Recusant's insignia
1945–1964: Decolonisation	United Nations operations in Korea commemorative medal Indochina Campaign commemorative medal Middle East operations commemorative medal North Africa Security and Order Operations Commemorative Medal
Since 1964	Medal of the Nation's Gratitude North Africa medal United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon medal French commemorative medal Medal for the Military Protection of the Territory

Defunct orders

Royal & Imperial	Order of Saint Michael Order of the Holy Spirit Order of Saint Louis Order of Military Merit Order of the Iron Crown Order of the Three-Golden Fleeces Order of the Reunion Decoration of The Lily Decoration of the Bordeaux Armband Decoration of the Fidelity Medal of the wounded Order of the Cross of July
Ministerial	Order of Merit for Veterans Order of Military Merit Order of Civil Merit Order of Social Merit Order of Labour Merit Order of Touristic Merit Order of the National Economy Order of Commercial and Industrial Merit Order of Artisan Merit Order of Public Health Order of Postal Merit Order of Sport Merit
Colonial	Order of Indochinese Merit Order of Saharan Merit Order of the Black Star Order of the Star of Anjouan Order of Nichan el Anouar Imperial Order of the Dragon of Annam Royal Order of Cambodia Order of Merit of Madagascar and dependencies Order of Merit of Cameroon

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