Philip Roth Awarded French Legion of Honor
American-Jewish author Philip Roth was awarded France’s highest honor, the Commander of the Legion of Honor.
French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius presented the award to Roth on Friday in New York.
The award recognizes civilians and soldiers. Roth was promoted to commander, the French news agency AFP reported.
“France is giving you back what you have given to my country,” Fabius said, according to AFP.
Roth, the author of nearly 30 novels, has and won numerous literary prizes. They include two National Book Awards, two National Book
Critics Circle Awards, three PEN/Faulkner Awards and the 1997 Pulitzer Prize for fiction.
He told a French magazine last year that he was done writing fiction.
A message from our editor-in-chief Jodi Rudoren
![](https://forward.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Jodi-Headshot.jpg)
We're building on 127 years of independent journalism to help you develop deeper connections to what it means to be Jewish today.
With so much at stake for the Jewish people right now — war, rising antisemitism, a high-stakes U.S. presidential election — American Jews depend on the Forward's perspective, integrity and courage.
— Jodi Rudoren, Editor-in-Chief