MAISON D'ÉDUCATION DE LA LÉGION D'HONNEUR
In the shadow of the basilica of Saint-Denis, north of Paris, next to the French kings who are buried here, the House of Education of the Legion of Honor has occupied for more than two centuries the sumptuous abbey and the 18 hectares park adjoining the famous gothic necropolis.
The high-school students, all girls, wear the uniform and can attend a catholic mass three time per week. So many believe it is a private military or religious institution. It is in fact a public high school under the direct responsibility of the Grande Chancellerie of the Legion d'honneur (and therefore of the President of the Republic who is the Grand Master of the Chancellerie), and on the budget of the Prime Minister. A budget out of proportion with other public institutions. Here, the annual cost of a student is over 19,000 euros, against a national average of 10,000 euros. All teachers are contracted by the National Education Ministry, like in any other public school in France, but the head of school enjoys a rare privilege: he can choose his teachers. To study here, you must be the daughter, the granddaughter, or the great granddaughter of an ancestor decorated with the Legion d'Honneur, the medal of merit, or, since 2005, the military medal. A privilege granted in the name of the merit of an ancestor, in contradiction with the republican equality, which provokes from time to time the anger of the neighboring inhabitants of the very poor department of Saint-Denis.
On the first day of school, most girls go to the locker room accompanied by their mother to try on their uniform. The multicolored scarf is the distinctive sign of the pupils of final grade.
Superintendent Marie-France Lorente has on the walls of her office the portraits of all those who have preceded her in this position since 1805. Some are buried in the school grounds.
The House of Education of the Legion of Honor is under the direct authority of the President of the Republic. The central building (in the foreground) which houses the classrooms was built under François Mitterand in 1985. His daughter Mazarine Pingeot studied here.
Students are encouraged to play sports. Football is not on the program, however they can practice rugby, cross-country, sailing, nature raid, basketball or classical dance.
Girls are only allowed to leave school on Wednesday afternoons and Saturdays after their homework. Unlike students in lower classes who sleep in dormitories, final grade students have double rooms.
Louise, a student, organizes the 2S evening, the celebration of Napoleon's coronation and the battle of Austerlitz, which takes place every year on December 2. This celebration, born in 2005 for the bicentenary of the school, continues at the request of the students.
At nightfall, the seniors pass through the dormitories to announce the reenactment of the Battle of Austerlitz. The girls dress up, some play dead. In order to symbolize the battlefield, there are "bodies" scattered around the school.
Although the school is secular and public, masses are held there three times a week. The priest is Abbé Gabriel Grimaud, a traditionalist known to be the confessor of billionaire Vincent Bolloré.
On March 30, the student choirs of the Legion sing in front of the President of the Republic. It is also the occasion for a selfie.
The interclass sports meetings return each year in May. The competition does not matter, the girls see it as a moment of cohesion.
