| Médaille de la Résistance | |
|---|---|
The medal with officer's rosette |
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| Awarded by France | |
| Type | Medal with two degrees: Médaille de la Résistance Officier's Médaille de la Résistance |
| Awarded for | "remarkable acts of faith and of courage that, in France, in the empire and abroad, have contributed to the resistance of the French people against the enemy and against its accomplices since June 18, 1940" |
| Status | Discontinued 31 March 1947 |
| Statistics | |
| Established | 9 February 1943 |
| Posthumous awards |
20,000 |
| Distinct recipients |
64,000 |
| Precedence | |
| Next (higher) | Croix de la Valeur Militaire |
| Next (lower) | Ordre des Palmes Académiques |
Ribbon bar of the medal |
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The French Médaille de la Résistance (Medal of the Resistance) was awarded by General Charles de Gaulle "to recognise the remarkable acts of faith and of courage that, in France, in the empire and abroad, have contributed to the resistance of the French people against the enemy and against its accomplices since June 18, 1940".
The Médaille de la Résistance was given to approximately 44,000 living persons and 20,000 posthumously, awarded both for membership of the Free French forces and for participation in the metropolitan clandestine Resistance during the German occupation of France in World War II. Higher deeds were rewarded with the Ordre de la Libération. The medal ceased to be awarded on 31 December 1947 in Indochina and globally on 31 March 1947.
The medal is held by red and black cloth with the Cross of Lorraine and the date of the beginning of the German occupation of France in Roman figures: XVIII.VI.MCMXL (18 June 1940). On the reverse are the words "PATRIA NON IMMEMOR" ("the Fatherland does not forget"). The medal exists in two ranks: simple medal, and medal with officier's rosette which was awarded to 4,253 people. The medal was also awarded to 21 army units, 14 Navy units, 6 towns, schools and hospitals, and to 9 others including convents.
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