Dylan to be awarded Legion d’Honneur

PARIS - Reuters

Bob Dylan will receive France’s highest distinction, the Legion d’Honneur.

American singer Bob Dylan may soon be awarded France’s highest distinction, the Legion d’Honneur, after his nomination was reportedly first tossed out over his marijuana use and opposition to the Vietnam War. The green light given by the Legion d’Honneur’s council means France’s minister of culture may soon decorate Dylan - a symbol of 1960s counterculture - with the five-pointed star of the top “Chevalier” order. He would join the ranks of singers such as Britain’s Paul McCartney and France’s Charles Aznavour to be so honored. The 17-member council determines whether nominations put forward by government ministers conform to the institution’s principles. Its grand chancellor, Jean-Louis Georgelin, confirmed it had approved Dylan’s nomination.
 
In a letter to the daily Le Monde published on Sunday, Georgelin called the singer-songwriter an “exceptional artist” known in the United States and internationally as a “tremendous singer and great poet”. Satirical weekly Le Canard Enchaine reported in May that Georgelin had rejected Dylan’s nomination on the basis of his opposition to the war in Vietnam, where France was a former colonial power.