Congratulatons to Secretary of State Antony Blinken as recipient of the French Legion of Honor award

 Secretary of State Antony Blinken to receive France's top honour in final diplomatic mission:  Published in France International

Antony John Blinken is an American lawyer and diplomat the 71st United States secretary of state. He previously served as deputy national security advisor from 2013 to 2015 and deputy secretary of state from 2015 to 2017 under President Barack Obama.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Paris to receive France's highest honour during what is likely to be his final diplomatic mission.

President Emmanuel Macron will award Blinken the Legion of Honour – a particularly meaningful decoration for the fluent French speaker who spent part of his childhood in the French capital.

The honour marks a dramatic improvement in French-American relations since 2021, when Paris was angered by a US-led defence pact with Britain and Australia that cancelled a major French submarine contract.

Improved ties have seen both countries working closely on global challenges including Ukraine and the Middle East.

Before his departure from Washington, Blinken told reporters: "France has been an indispensable partner in advancing our shared values and priorities."

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot will meet Blinken to discuss Syria, where extremist forces toppled Bashar al-Assad's regime last month.

Barrot visited Damascus last week with his German counterpart as Western nations cautiously engage with Syria's new leadership.

"I will work until my final hours in the job for a ceasefire in Gaza," Blinken told AFP, as American and Qatari mediators step up indirect talks between Israel and Hamas.