Grand Officers of the Ordre national du M\u00e9rite

Henry de Lumley (born 1934 in Marseille) is a French archeologist, geologist and prehistorian. He is director of the Institute of Human Paleontology in Paris, and Professor Emeritus at the Museum of Natural History in Paris. He is also a corresponding member of the Academy of Humanities of the Institute of France and former director of the French National Museum of Natural History. He is best known for his work on archeological sites in France and Spain, notably Arago cave in Tautavel, Southern France, Terra Amata in Nice and Grotte du Lazaret near Nice, and Baume Bonne at Quinson, where some of the earliest evidence of man in Europe were found.

Georges Roger Pierre Bergé (3 January 1909 – 15 September 1997) was a French Army general who served during World War II. He enlisted in the Free French Forces, where he took command of the 1re compagnie de chasseurs parachutistes (1st Parachute Chaser Company). He is mentioned by David Stirling as one of the co-founders of the Special Air Service (SAS). In Britain and Egypt, he organised the training for Allied agents sent to France and led the first airborne mission in occupied France, named Operation Savannah. He fought in Syria and Crete. After his capture by the Germans, he was imprisoned in Colditz Castle.

Jean-Paul Costa (3 November 1941 – 27 April 2023) was a French jurist and was the President of the European Court of Human Rights from 19 January 2007 until his term at the Court ended on 3 November 2011. He was first appointed a judge of the Court on 1 November 1998, and in 2009 was elected to serve an additional three years as President.

Jean Piat (23 September 1924 – 18 September 2018) was a French actor and writer.

Jean-Claude Probst (born 7 December 1935), known professional as Jean-Claude Casadesus, is a French conductor.

Paul Andreu (10 July 1938 – 11 October 2018) was a French architect, known for his designs of multiple airports such as Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris, and multiple prestigious projects in China, including the National Centre for the Performing Arts in Beijing.

Noëlle Lenoir (born 27 April 1948) is a French lawyer, former judge, and politician.

Emmanuel Bondeville was a French composer and music administrator, born 29 October 1898 in Rouen, and died 26 November 1987 in Paris. He was a member of the Académie des Beaux-Arts.