Receiving the Legion of Honor, the Military Medal or the National Order of Merit represents a moral commitment and inspires continued work for the community.
Recipients owe it to themselves to remain worthy of the honor that has been bestowed upon them by embodying on a daily basis the virtues of the three highest French distinctions: respect, civic spirit, and effort and merit. Their behavior and actions must be exemplary for all.
Recognition of their merit must also lead them to go even further in investing themselves in the service of society and the country.
Four Associations dedicated to honorees allow them to further their action in the general interest: the Fondation Un Avenir Ensemble, the Société des Membres de la Légion d’Honneur (SMLH), the Société Nationale d’Entraide de la Médaille Militaire (SNEMM) and the Association Nationale des Membres de l’Ordre National du Mérite (ANMONM).
The Foundation Un Avenir Ensemble
The foundation Un Avenir Ensemble (A Future Together), a charity with legal recognition of public utility, is chaired by the Grand Chancellor of the Legion of Honor. It promotes social mobility in France by offering Legion of Honor, Military Medal and National Order of Merit recipients the opportunity to mentor deserving, motivated students on a voluntary basis.
The Foundation supports these young people in precarious socio-economic situations from the time they start secondary school until they enter the labor market, by combining financial contributions and personalized action programs. During this period, the mentors help their mentees to develop their potential, to look to their future, and to acquire the social codes and cultural awareness necessary for their social and professional success.
This program encourages socio-cultural openness and helps to restore the democratic promise of equal opportunity for all. More than 1,000 mentees are now supported/sponsored by the Foundation.
The objectives of the Foundation
The Foundation has three objectives:
- Working together to jump-start the social ladder
- Promoting the concept of merit
- Valuing human potential and contributing to social cohesion
The Société des Membres de la Légion d’honneur (SMLH)
The SMLH (Society of the Members of the Legion of Honor), founded in 1921 in the aftermath of the First World War, now brings together nearly 40,000 volunteer Legion of Honor recipients. It contributes to promoting French values and culture and takes an active role in the domains of social cohesion in all its forms, in its transmission and intergenerational solidarity.
The SMLH relies on an extensive network in France and abroad to carry out its missions revolving around its commitment “to make our decoration a point of starting, not of ending”:
- Enhancing the prestige of the Order of the Legion of Honor and contributing to the influence of the values and culture of France at home and abroad
- Promoting the values embodied by the Legion of Honor and contributing to the development of civic and patriotic spirit, in particular through educational activities with youth
- Participating in national solidarity actions while strengthening the bonds of mutual support among members Visit the SMLH website Participer à des actions de solidarité nationale tout en renforçant les liens d’entraide entre les membres
The Société Nationale d'Entraide de la Médaille militaire (SNEMM)
With 25,000 members, the SNEMM (National Society for Mutual Assistance of the Military Medal) has a network of 650 sections in metropolitan France, in the French overseas departments and territories and abroad.
It sets forth three objectives:
- Ensuring social action among its members
- Promoting the outreach of the Military Medal
- Maintaining the respect and the transmission of remembrance to younger generations
Much of its work is dedicated to mutual assistance. This may involve participating in the education of orphaned children of military medalists, helping its members in a temporary, critical financial situation, guiding the retraining of medalists who choose to leave the military, or supporting those wounded in the military.
The SNEMM also takes action for outside causes such as mentoring meritorious young people or helping victims of climate events. SNEMM also has a residence in Hyères. This non-medical establishment for staying and resting is open to the public.
The Association Nationale des Membres de l’ordre national du Mérite (ANMONM)
Under its motto "Honor, solidarity, remembrance", the ANMONM (National Association of Members of the National Order of Merit) brings together 25,000 National Order of Merit recipients residing in France or abroad.
The ANMONM’s purposes are as follows:
- Contributing to the influence of the National Order of Merit
- Valuing the concept of merit in all its forms
- Strengthening bonds of solidarity among members of the order and engaging in individual and collective mutual assistance, both moral and material
- Participating in the national duty of remembrance and encouraging its transmission
- Maintaining, developing and promoting the moral and civic values we espouse
- Encouraging civic engagement, civics and civility, in particular among young people
In order to support young people in achieving these objectives, the Association, in collaboration with the French Ministry of Education, grants a number of prizes throughout the territory to reward the most committed and deserving young people: prizes for civic-mindedness, civic engagement, civic education, remembrance and a commemoration initiative.