What is the educational home of the Legion of Honor where Macron brings the parties together?

Government spokesman Olivier Veran mentioned the site as having “symbolic value”. Emmanuel Macron, as part of his “major political initiative”, is hosting the leaders of the main parties this Wednesday at the Légion d’Honneur in Saint-Denis.

This prestigious-sounding name hides an institution founded in 1805 by Napoleon I and originally intended to house and educate poor girls or war orphans. Its management was then entrusted to Madame Campan, the former first maid of Queen Marie Antoinette.

Its status has changed so that these houses support some girls whose parents, grandparents, even great-grandparents were awarded the Legion of Honor, an award established by Napoleon in 1802. Today, descendants of recipients of the Military Medal, as well as the National Order of Merit, may also benefit from it.

Greeted by hundreds of students

The educational center of Saint-Denis occupies the monastery of the former royal abbey of the city and adjoins the basilica, which houses the necropolis of the kings of France. According to the website of the Grand Chancellery of the Legion of Honor, even today it remains a boarding school accepting “500 young girls in high school, hypohanie hagne and BTS in international trade” in classes of 25 students. Another branch of the former convent of the Lodges in Saint-Germain-en-Laye accepts the same number of schoolgirls.

A little over a hundred professors work in the auditoriums of institutions specializing in music, plastic arts and European classes. For the rest of the program, supervised sessions are held daily and classroom sessions are held every Saturday morning. Not to mention the “trial tests” and assessments conducted from the beginning of the school year on the previous year’s program.

Public institution, but electoral

The institution proudly demonstrates its results: in 2023, the success rate in obtaining a patent and undergraduate degree was 100%. In addition, 70% of Kindergarten students attend the Grande Ecole. While an institution that enforces the wearing of a uniform may reflect a somewhat conservative image, it affirms on its website its commitment to the values ​​of “equality” and “universality” by providing financial assistance to poorer families and ensuring that all social categories are represented.

This does not prevent these boarding schools from applying for the selection of their students through dossiers and interviews. It takes into account “the potential for student achievement, his involvement in learning and the compatibility of his general attitude with the general life.” Among the former students we find in particular the journalist Anne-Elisabeth Lemoine and the astronaut Sophie Adeno.