The National Office for Veterans and Victims of War (french: Office national des anciens combattants et victimes de guerre (ONACVG) ) is a French governmental agency under the Ministry of the Armed Forces. Its purpose is recognition and support of the nation's war veterans and victims, and directing national policy about war memorials and remembrances. The current agency is the successor to the veteran's organisation first set up in 1916 during the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. It underwent several mergers with related veterans and war victims organisations. Its charter was expanded to include victims of terrorist incidents following the November 2015 Paris attacks.

History

The first office to be created was the National Office of Disabled and Discharged War Veterans created by ministerial decree on 2 March 1916, during the First World War. At the outset the latter was an interagency autonomous public institution managed by a Board of Directors. The law of 2 July 1917 established the and that of 19 December 1926 created the National Soldiers Office. During the years 1933 and 1934, successive mergers of the three organisations created the National Office of Veterans, Disabled, War Victims, and Wards of the Nation. In 1946 this organisation took over the management of social services of the Ministry of Prisoners, Deportees and Refugees and was renamed the National Office of Veterans and Victims of War. Since 1991, it also handles assistance to victims of terrorism.

Goals and responsibilities

Aux soldats français morts à Charleroi 1914-1918

The Office has three goalsː * Recognition on behalf of the Nation towards people affected by the war. It allocates recognition of their status and to the entitlements that go along with it via local services, id cards, and documents. * Social action, as expressed by administrative assistance, by implementation of the status of Ward of the Nation by financing the cost of professional retraining, and by assistance for French citizens living abroad. * Operation of the policy of memorials and historical preservation developed by the Armed Forces. The actions of the Office are geared towards celebrating, sharing, and conveying the memory of contemporary conflicts and the values of the Republic. It carries out these goals by handling applications, assigning honors, and disbursing allocations according to the rights established by the law, including handling applications and requests for * veterans id cards, and for other statuses such as victimes of war * certificates of the Nation's gratitude, and honors such as MPF (french:

Mort pour la France ''Mort pour la France'' ( French for "died for France") is a legal expression in France and an honor awarded to people who died during a conflict, usually in service of the country. Definition The term is defined in L.488 to L.492 (bis) of the ...

, Died For France) and MED (french: Mort en déportation, ) * reimbursement for trips to gravesites and sites of crimes related to deportation as well as disbursing funds owed to constituents via departmental branches, as part of reparations for * awarding veterans' pensions * gratitude to

Harkis ''Harki'' (adjective from the Arabic ''harka'', standard Arabic ''haraka'' حركة, "war party" or "movement", i.e., a group of volunteers, especially soldiers) is the generic term for native Muslim Algerian who served as auxiliaries in the F ...

and their widows * management of the veterans disability card * managing policy regarding benefits to orphans of deportation and victims of antisemitic persecution.

Operation

The agency is constituted as a

legal person In law, a legal person is any person or 'thing' (less ambiguously, any legal entity) that can do the things a human person is usually able to do in law – such as enter into contracts, sue and be sued, own property, and so on. The reason for ...

(

établissement public à caractère administratif An Établissement public à caractère administratif (EPA; literally translating to "public establishment of an administrative nature") is, in France, a public law legal person with a certain administrative and financial autonomy to fulfil a missio ...

) with financial autonomy. It maintains delegates in every

French department In the administrative divisions of France, the department (french: département, ) is one of the three levels of government under the national level ("territorial collectivity, territorial collectivities"), between the regions of France, admin ...

. It has a board of directors whose role it is to define institutional policy. The board chair is appointed by the Council of Ministers. The board consists of 40 members divided into four colleges. The first one has eight members representing the assemblies and the administrations to which they belong and serve for four years. The second college has 2 members and represents veterans and war victims selected from among the different citizen categories. The third college consists of six members representing the foundations and national associations that work for memorials and citizenship. It is chaired by the Minister Delegate for Veterans Affairs. Finally the council includes two representatives from the staff of the national office.

References

;Notes ;References

External links

Official website
(in French)
ONACVG
from French consulate, Boston (in English) {{Authority control Commemoration French Army Military of France Military history of France 1916 establishments in France

History

Goals and responsibilities

Operation

See also

References

External links