Devouard, knight in the French National Order of Merit
On May 16 2008, Florence Devouard was proposed as knight in the French National Order of Merit, by Mr President Sarkozy, on the list of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as "chair of an international foundation".
The official ceremony was held on December 17th with Mr. Eric Besson, State Secretary for Prospectives and Evaluation of Public Policies and Internet. Contrary to many such events, the ceremony was organized for only one person, at the minister's office. About 40 people were invited at the ceremony, including several members of Wikimedia France. Mr. Besson made a very positive speech, celebrating the value of Wikipedia, of its principles and of its community (which is now hosted on the French Wikisource).
Wikimedia France helped fund the cocktails following the ceremony.
