The French Defense Minister, Jean Yves Le Drain announced to the National Assembly that proceedings would be commenced to strike Syrian President, Bashar al-Assad off the Order of the Legion of Honour.

It was President Jacques Chirac who had conferred this honour on al-Assad. Chirac had made out that he was Godfather to al-Assad, lending his patronage to Assad as he introduced the latter into the international arena.

This procedure is highly exceptional and is spearheaded by General Benoit Puga. The latter was the Commander of the French Special Forces and then the Military Intelligence. He was the Personal Chief of Staff of two subsequent presidents: Nicolas Sarkozy and François Hollande. Following his period at the Elysee, Puga organized and commanded French soldiers that had been secretly sent to Syria with the mission of toppling the Syrian regime and re-establishing what President Holland refers to as “the French mandate”. Puga was never prosecuted for this. On the contrary, he was hailed and rewarded by his appointment as Grand Chancellor of the Legion of Honour and invitation to participate at the 2017 Bilderberg Group Meeting.