The Ordre des Arts et des Lettres is an order of France established on 2 May 1957 by the Minister of Culture. Its supplementary status to the Ordre national du Mérite was confirmed by President Charles de Gaulle in 1963. Its purpose is the recognition of significant contributions to the arts, literature, or the propagation of these fields.
Michel Ciment was a French film critic and the editor of the cinema magazine Positif.
Jean-Paul Cara is a French singer and composer. He has authored several songs that have won prizes at the Eurovision contest, most notably the single L'Oiseau et l'Enfant in collaboration with Joe Gracy and performed by Marie Myriam.
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.
Michèle Torr is a French singer and author, best known in non-Francophone countries for her participation in the Eurovision Song Contest for Luxembourg in 1966 and for Monaco in 1977.
Jean-Claude Probst, known professionally as Jean-Claude Casadesus, is a French conductor.
Patrick Seguin is a French gallery owner specialised in French architect-designed furniture of the 20th century, and founder of Galerie Patrick Seguin.
Professor Nasrine Seraji-Bozorgzad AA Dipl FRIBA, is an Iranian-born French-British architect. She is a 2011 recipient of the Knight of the Legion of Honour, an Officier of l'Ordre national du Mérite and l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres.
Bernard Berthod physician, historian, writer and presenter of exhibitions from Lyon, France.
Admiral Georges Cabanier was a French Naval Officer and Admiral, in addition to Grand Chancellor of the Legion of Honour.
Catherine Cessac is a French musicologist and music publisher.
Alain Erlande-Brandenburg was a French art historian and honorary general curator for heritage, a specialist on Gothic and Romanesque art.
Stephane Custot, is a French gallerist and art dealer. He is the owner of Waddington Custot gallery in London and Custot Gallery Dubai.
Stéphane André Braunschweig is a French theatre director.
Mona Ozouf is a French historian and philosopher. Born into a family of schoolteachers keen on preserving the language and the culture of Brittany, she graduated as a teacher of philosophy from the École normale supérieure de jeunes filles. After teaching philosophy, she joined the CNRS as a historian. Her research and writings centre on the French Revolution and the French secular education system. Notable publications include L'École, l'Église et la République, 1871–1914 (1963) and La fête révolutionnaire, 1789–1799 (1976), the latter of which was published in English as Festivals and the French Revolution (1988).
Philippe Bélaval is a French high-ranking official.
Francis Rapp was a French medievalist specializing in the history of Alsace and medieval Germany. An emeritus university professor, he was a member of the Académie des inscriptions et belles-lettres since 1993.
Gabrielle Démians d'Archimbaud was a French archaeologist specialising in deserted medieval villages and religious buildings. She was a pioneer of the study of material culture in the Middle Ages and Professor emerita of History of Art.
Camille Pascal is a French writer and senior civil servant.
