Légion d'honneur for Anne Sinclair

THE FORMER wife of Dominique Strauss-Kahn, journalist Anne Sinclair, has been awarded the Légion d'Honneur by President Hollande in the French Easter honours list.

Sinclair, now editorial director of the French edition of the Huffington Post, is among 512 figures who have been given France's highest honour this time.

A former TV journalist known for hosting current affairs shows, she had left work to support her husband’s career in politics and economics and returned to journalism after divorcing the former head of the International Monetary Fund when he became embroiled in a sex scandal.

Others recognised this year including the 95-year-old French contemporary artist Pierre Soulages, former Senate president Jean-Pierre Bel and the 1979 judo world champion Thierry Rey, who supported François Hollande in the 2011 Socialist presidential primaries.

The Légion d'Honneur was created by Napoleon in 1802. Since then, 92,000 people have been given the honour, mostly for their services to the arts, business or politics.

New additions are announced at Easter, July 14 and New Year's Day.