The Médaille de la Famille française ( en, Medal of the French Family) is a decoration awarded by the

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

to honour those who have successfully raised several children with dignity. The decoration was created by a

decree A decree is a legal proclamation, usually issued by a head of state (such as the president of a republic or a monarch), according to certain procedures (usually established in a constitution). It has the force of law. The particular term used ...

of May 26, 1920, under the name Médaille d'honneur de la famille française, with the aim of honouring

mother ] A mother is the female parent of a child. A woman may be considered a mother by virtue of having given birth, by raising a child who may or may not be her biological offspring, or by supplying her ovum for fertilisation in the case of ges ...

s of large

families Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Ideal ...

. Although the medal rewards those with large families, the children must be "raised well" and the eldest be at least 16 years old.

History

The decoration was created by a

of May 26, 1920, under the name ''Médaille d'honneur de la famille française'' (Medal of Honour of the French Family) with the aim of honouring

s of large

. The text of the decree underwent several changes before being completely reformed by a decree of October 28, 1982, which renamed the decoration ''Médaille de la Famille française'' (Medal of the French Family). This decree came into force on January 1, 1983, and was completed by an ''arrêté'' (administrative order) of March 15, 1983. The reform opened the award of the decoration to

father A father is the male parent of a child. Besides the paternal bonds of a father to his children, the father may have a parental, legal, and social relationship with the child that carries with it certain rights and obligations. An adoptive fathe ...

s and others who had raised several children in an appropriate way: for example, the

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in partic ...

Père Mayotte, curate of the

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one o ...

of Randan, Puy-de-Dôme was granted the award in recognition of his raising the six children of his housekeeper, a

widow A widow (female) or widower (male) is a person whose spouse has died. Terminology The state of having lost one's spouse to death is termed ''widowhood''. An archaic term for a widow is "relict," literally "someone left over". This word can so ...

who died suddenly.

Decoration

Three classes of medal exist: bronze for those raising four or five children,

silver Silver is a chemical element with the symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical ...

for parents of six or seven children, and

gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile me ...

for those with eight or more children. A bronze medal is also granted to widowed mothers of three children whose husbands have been killed in action. The recipient's eldest child must be at least sixteen years old. The original medal was an eight pointed radiant star, with a central medallion depicting a mother holding a small child, surrounded by the inscription ''Famille Française'', ("French Family"). Since 1983 a circular medal has been awarded, bearing the words ''Famille Française'' above a modernistic image of a

couple Couple or couples may refer to : Basic meaning *Couple (app), a mobile app which provides a mobile messaging service for two people *Couple (mechanics), a system of forces with a resultant moment but no resultant force *Couple (relationship), tw ...

and their children. The words "République Française" ("French Republic") are inscribed on the reverse side. The ribbon of both versions is the same, and has three equal parts, the outer two being red and the inner green. Recipients of silver and gold medals are also granted a rosette in the same colours.

Conditions

Recommendations or applications for the award must be deposited at the local town hall. An enquiry into the family is then conducted. If the enquiry reports positively, the final decision on whether to grant the award belongs to the

prefect Prefect (from the Latin ''praefectus'', substantive adjectival form of ''praeficere'': "put in front", meaning in charge) is a magisterial title of varying definition, but essentially refers to the leader of an administrative area. A prefect's ...

of the department. While the award has always been open to mothers raising families alone, and to other

single parent A single parent is a person who has a child or children but does not have a spouse or live-in partner to assist in the upbringing or support of the child. Reasons for becoming a single parent include divorce, break-up, abandonment, becoming wid ...

s and legal guardians since the 1982 reforms, this applies only in cases of widowhood or abandonment: the medal is only granted to

divorce Divorce (also known as dissolution of marriage) is the process of terminating a marriage or marital union. Divorce usually entails the canceling or reorganizing of the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage, thus dissolving the ...

d parents in the most exceptional circumstances. The medal may be awarded

posthumous Posthumous may refer to: * Posthumous award - an award, prize or medal granted after the recipient's death * Posthumous publication – material published after the author's death * ''Posthumous'' (album), by Warne Marsh, 1987 * ''Posthumous'' ...

ly, provided that the application is made within two years of the recipient's death.

References

* ''This article is based on, but is not a direct translation of, the equivalent article on the French Wikipedia.''
Regulations covering the Médaille de la famille (In French)

www.service-public.fr Government guidance on the Médaille de la famille (In French)

{{DEFAULTSORT:Medaille de la famille francaise Natalism Civil awards and decorations of France

History

Decoration

Conditions

See also

References