Leading French economist Thomas Piketty turns down Légion d’Honneur
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Version 0 of 1. The high-profile economist, Thomas Piketty, has joined a select band of French men and women who have refused to accept their country’s highest civilian honour. In a snub to the Socialist government, which he once advised, Mr Piketty, 43, declined the Légion d’Honneur offered to him in the New Year’s honours list. Mr Piketty’s book Capital in the 21st Century, which has sold around 1.5 million copies, warns that the growing wealth of a small coterie of the “super-rich” is a serious threat to the global economy. In a brief statement Mr Piketty said he was refusing the award because “I don’t think it is the role of government to decide who should be honoured.” He said that the French government would “do better to concentrate on rekindling growth in France and Europe.” Mr Piketty joins a relatively small of number of French people who have refused the honour since it was created by Napoleon two centuries ago. Other notable refuseniks include the actress Brigitte Bardot and the philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre. |