L’ORDRE NATIONAL DE LA LEGION D’(ES)HONNEUR?
The bestowing of France’s highest honour on Sylvette Frichot has caused considerable anger and consternation among the local supporters of France and French culture in Seychelles. At least two have written to this newspaper on the issue.
Mrs Maryse Eichler, sister of the late Mrs Danielle de St Jorre, who was the longest serving Foreign Minister of Seychelles – and has done more than anyone to cement the French influence and language in the Seychelles - has written an open letter to French Ambassador in Seychelles Mr Michel Tretout expressing her surprise and astonishment at the decision to honour Mrs Frichot.
Mrs Eischler said that it appears, according to the official citation, that the only qualification Mrs Pool needed to earn France’s highest honour was to share an ideology (communism) and to have “joined with President Rene, the leader of SPUP, in 1968 to struggle for independence” of Seychelles. Mrs Eischler said that she leaves it to the people of Seychelles to judge for themselves whether the official reason given has any value.
In the context of the true history of Seychelles no one truly struggled for independence as the propaganda of Mr Rene would have us believe. In 1968 Mr Rene’s official and publicly declared policy was that he was against independence but only for association with the United Kingdom. Meanwhile in London, the official British Government policy was that as soon as the people of Seychelles voted for independence Britain would oblige.
On the other hand former President Mancham, who was then leading the Democratic Party supported integration with Britain and won the 1967 and 1971 general elections on that issue. One of the arguments put forward by Mr Mancham was that when Britain would join the European Common Market now known as the European Union, Seychellois would enjoy the same rights and privileges as everyone in France, just as the people of La Reunion enjoys today, if we were part of Great Britain.
Mr Mancham is the only other Seychellois to have been bestowed with France’s highest honour. In his case he was invited to meet with the French President Valery Giscard d’Estaing before the honour was bestowed on him in Paris by the Minsitry of foreign Affiars.
In her letter, Mrs Eichler pointed out that Mrs Frichot holds no record of helping to improve French influence in Seychelles nor has there been any known contribution that she has made to preserve the French language and culture. She has never been a member of l’Alliance Française and neither does the Minister speak the language on a daily basis.
It appears, Mrs Eichler said in her letter to the French ambassador, that today all one needs to do to earn France’s highest honour is to simply promote an ideology of ones country. In the case of Mrs Frichot her preferred ideology was communism and dictatorship.
