Sunil Bharti Mittal Named Knight of France's Legion of Honour: What This Means

Sunil Bharti Mittal, Founder and Chairman of Bharti Enterprises, has been named a Chevalier (Knight) of the National Order of the Legion of Honour by French President Emmanuel Macron. The insignia will be conferred at the Embassy of France in New Delhi on Wednesday, October 28.

What is the Legion of Honour?

Founded in 1802 by Napoleon Bonaparte, it is France's highest civilian award, with about 79,000 members. It recognises service to France and exceptional contributions in fields such as business, culture and science. Chevalier is the first of the order's five grades.

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Why Sunil Bharti Mittal?

France cites Sunil Mittal's long-standing work to deepen economic ties with India and his achievements in telecommunications and digital infrastructure. The French link goes back to 1992, when Compagnie Générale des Eaux, through Société Française du Radiotéléphone (SFR), was a consortium partner in the venture that launched Airtel. Bharti has since partnered with AXA in life insurance and with Alcatel-Lucent. Mittal also chaired the Paris-based International Chamber of Commerce from 2016 to 2018.

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The Eutelsat factor

Today the connection is space. Mittal is Co-Chairman of Eutelsat, the Paris-headquartered satellite operator. In 2020, he led the consortium that revived OneWeb, which combined with Eutelsat in 2023. The merged company runs both geostationary satellites and a low-Earth-orbit constellation.

In November 2025, the French State put in €551 million and became Eutelsat's largest shareholder with a 29.65% stake. Bharti Space Limited also took part and, with 17.88%, is the largest private shareholder. French Ambassador Thierry Mathou pointed to this, saying the two countries "are moving forward jointly in space and digital technology".

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