France is to honour renowned SA crime fiction author Deon Meyer with its most prestigious cultural award in recognition of his literary work and special relationship with the country.
Meyer will have the Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres (Knight in the Order of Arts and Letters) honour bestowed on him by France’s ambassador to SA, Aurélien Lechevallier, on behalf of the French president, at a ceremony at Glenelly Estate in Stellenbosch on April 20.
A separate ceremony will be held the day before at L’Avenir Wine Estate, also near Stellenbosch, to honour former public protector Thuli Madonsela with France’s Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur (the Legion of Honour). Madonsela’s award was fist made public in early February but she was unable to receive it formally due scheduling conflicts with the embassy.
“Deon Meyer is a great friend of France and loves spending the European summer in the beautiful city of Bordeaux,” the French embassy said in a statement. “Deon’s latest novel The Last Hunt is set in Bordeaux, where the SA character Thobela Mpayipheli lives under the French name Daniel Darret.”
France’s Order of Arts and Letters was established in 1957 and is awarded by the French ministry of culture in recognition of significant contributions to the enrichment of the arts and literature in France and abroad. There are three degrees: knight, officer and commander. Previous SA citizens who have been recipients of the order include Johnny Clegg (1991), William Kentridge (2013), Gregory Maqoma (2017) Zanele Muholi (2017) and Jonathan Shapiro “Zapiro” (2019).
Meyer has published three short story collections and 15 novels, two of which (Dead Before Dying and Trackers) were turned into international TV series. His books have been published in more than 40 countries and translated into 27 languages. He is also the recipient of two previous French awards, Le Grand Prix de Littérature Policière (2003) and Le Prix Mystère de la critique (2004).
Madonsela was awarded by France for her strong opposition to corruption, most notably during her time as SA’s public protector between 2009 and 2016, which coincided with former president Jacob Zuma’s time in office. Now a professor at the University of Stellenbosch. where she is also the Law Trust Chair in Social Justice, Madonsela is an advocate of the hight court and has more than 50 national and international awards as well as eight honorary Doctor of Law degrees.
“The Knight of Legion is bestowed on Thuli Madonsela in recognition of her remarkable achievements in defence of the rule of law and the fight against corruption in SA,” the French embassy said.
France’s Legion of Honour was established in 1802 and is the country’s highest order of merit, both military and civil. It is typically awarded to entrepreneurs, high-level civil servants, scientists, artists, sports achievers and those with distinguished service in the executive.
“While membership in the Legion is technically restricted to French nationals, foreign nationals who have served France or the ideals it upholds may receive the honour, bestowed on only a few distinguished recipients,” the French embassy said.
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