Marjane Satrapi was promoted to the rank of Knight of the Legion of Honor last July.
The artist, at the origin of the comic strip and the film “Persepolis”, decided to refuse this honor, claiming a “hypocrisy” of Paris vis-à-vis Tehran, particularly in the allocation of visas. .
Follow the full coverage
Iran: the veil revolt
An unusual refusal. Marjane Satrapi announced on Monday that she was refusing the promotion to the rank of Knight of the Legion of Honor, which she received last July. Arriving in France in 1994 and naturalized in 2006, the 55-year-old director decided to “decline” because of his “principles” and its “attachment” to his “homeland of birth”she explains in a letter addressed to the Minister of Culture, Rachida Dati, published on Instagram. “I cannot ignore what I perceive as France’s hypocritical attitude towards Iran”she underlines, calling for more open support for the people’s side “who fights for democracy”.
Not “an action or a thought against France”
In detail, the artist, who made himself known worldwide with the comic strip and the film Persepolisevokes a “mark of solidarity with the Iranians, especially with women and with Iranian youth, but also with (his) French compatriots held hostage in Iran”. “For a while now, I have really struggled to understand France’s policy towards Iran,” she highlights, regretting that “Young freedom-loving Iranians, dissidents, artists are being refused visas”including tourists, while children“Iranian oligarchs” with “Walk in Paris as in Saint-Tropez without this posing any problem”. “Supporting the women’s revolution in Iran cannot be reduced to photos with victims or celebrities during commemorations of the death of Mahsa Amini“a young woman arrested for violating the strict dress code of the Islamic Republic, she insists.
However, the Franco-Iranian author refuses everything “contempt” towards the country and the institution that distinguished her. “The refusal of the Legion of Honor is in no way an action or a thought against France. Quite the contrary, I deeply love this country which is mine”she insists, wishing “may France remain true to itself”. “I will be honored when all the defenders of freedom are at my side”she says again.
-
Read also
Definitively condemned, can Nicolas Sarkozy lose his Legion of Honor?
Note that the official presentation of the Legion of Honor to Marjane Satrapi was to take place in January, hence the timing of this announcement.
