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Franco-Algerian writer Boualem Sansal awarded the Legion of Honor, France’s highest distinction
Writer Boualem Sansal is to be decorated as a Knight of the Legion of Honor. Indeed, the Franco-Algerian author, who was imprisoned for a year in Algiers, is on the list of recipients of the Legion of Honor, France’s highest distinction. The official decree was published this Thursday, 1 January 2026. In total, 616 people “engaged in the service of the general interest” and who embody “a certain idea of meritocracy and exemplary conduct” are on the list of recipients of the Legion of Honor, France’s greatest distinction. This year, the rosette was notably awarded to the Franco-Algerian writer Boualem Sansal. He is the author of 2084, the End of the World, awarded the Grand Prize for Fiction of the Académie française, and Vivre, winner of the Renaudot Prize.
Boualem Sansal was at the heart of a diplomatic rift between Algiers and Paris. The 81-year-old writer was imprisoned for a year in Algeria, accused of “undermining national unity” after an interview given to the French far-right media outlet Frontières.
In that interview, he stated that Algeria “inherited under French colonization regions previously belonging to Morocco, such as Oran and Mascara.” After a year of negotiations, he was ultimately pardoned by Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune on 12 November, thanks to the intercession of German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier. Boualem Sansal was diagnosed with prostate cancer, discovered while he was in prison.
Editorial team/le7tv
