See also   Speech of President Sarkozy at presentation of Légion d'Honneur in recognition of INTERPOL

The presentation of the Légion d'Honneur was made at the Elysée Palace.

Staff from the INTERPOL General Secretariat in Lyon accompanied Secretary General Noble to Paris for the ceremony.

INTERPOL Secretary General Ronald K. Noble accepted the Légion d'Honneur on behalf of the organization.

PARIS, France - In a ceremony at the Elysée Palace, French President Nicolas Sarkozy today presented the Légion d'Honneur to INTERPOL's Secretary General, Ronald K. Noble, and gave special recognition to the world's largest police organization.

In presenting the honour, President Sarkozy said, "INTERPOL makes a decisive contribution to the world's police in combating organised crime, money laundering, terrorism and in the fight against the sexual exploitation of children."

President Sarkozy also highlighted the significant growth and transformation of INTERPOL under the leadership of Mr. Noble since he was elected Secretary General in 2000.

The 186-member-country-strong organization, its National Central Bureaus and other law enforcement agencies have achieved ever greater operational results in the past eight years with more than 24,000 arrests worldwide.

Accepting the honour on behalf of INTERPOL, Secretary General Noble thanked and paid tribute to France and President Sarkozy's significant and long-standing support of the organization.

"President Sarkozy's and France's commitment to INTERPOL and law enforcement globally have been instrumental in the development of many key initiatives, particularly the creation of the International Child Sexual Exploitation database during the French presidency of the G8 in 2003.

"France is not only the home of INTERPOL's General Secretariat headquarters, but a firm and steadfast partner in our work in combating all forms of transnational crime and terrorism to protect citizens around the world.

"It is rare that international police co-operation is recognised in such a manner, which is why I am proud to accept this honour on behalf of the more than 500 officials at the INTERPOL General Secretariat, and on behalf of the law enforcement professionals in each of our 186 member countries and National Central Bureaus," concluded Secretary General Noble.

The world-renowned Légion d'Honneur, established by Napoléon Bonaparte in 1802, is the highest decoration in France.