Emmanuel Macron faces criticism for handing Légion d’honneur to Jeff Bezos

French President Emmanuel Macron organised a discreet ceremony at the Elysée Palace to give Légion d’honneur to Amazon's founder Jeff Bezos as thousands of workers continued to protest across France over the changes in the pension plan.

Légion d’honneur, the highest honour of the country, was presented by the French president in front of VIP guests and business leaders last Thursday, when an industrial action was planned against Macron's decision of raisingthe retirement age to 64, the Guardian reported.

The Guardian report further stated that Bezos was designated as the Legion d’honneur's member around 10 years ago, before the entry of Macron into the Elysée, and the ceremony was organised to only hand over the ribboned medal which he should have been given but was not collected by Bezos.

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Elysee did not announce the ceremony or placed it in the official diary of the president because it was labelled as a private occasion, and the date was selected in a way that it coincides with the Bezos family's trip to Paris. Every year, around 300 foreigners are given the Legion d’honneur.

In France, the revelation of the ceremony by the news magazine Le Point has caused anger and leftwing critics have branded Macron as the “president of the rich”. Bezos is the third-richest person in the world, behind Tesla chief executive Elon Musk.

The event was described by Le Point as attended by “only a few hand-picked guests”, as “sumptuous but confidential”. The event also had no mention in the regular updates to the press which details the engagements of Macron.

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Leftwing La France Insoumise's (LFI) Manon Aubry tweeted, “Context: record CAC40 (French stock exchange) profits, inflation, massive demonstrations against the reform of pensions...Macron’s bright idea: decorate the boss of Amazon Jeff Bezos…with the Legion of Honour.”

LFI's MP François Piquemal, meanwhile, tweeted, “Always and forever, everything for the rich, nothing for the people.”

(With inputs from agencies)

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