[Anyone] No More Paris!

[Mike in Taos]

Barbra Streisand honoured in France
(Thursday June 28, 2007 08:26 PM)

Barbra Streisand performed her first concert in France this week and was 
rewarded with a medal of the Legion of Honour.

President Nicolas Sarkozy awarded the singer at a ceremony in Paris, the 
first time the new President had bestowed the honour on anyone since he took 
over last month from Jacques Chirac.

"You are the America that we love," said Mr Sarkozy, seen as more 
US-friendly than his predecessor. "Women like you ... do a lot to bring our 
two peoples together."

"My kids told me, 'Now you're really President'," when they heard Streisand 
was going to the presidential palace, Mr Sarkozy said.

Onlookers included French crooner Charles Aznavour and actor Alain Delon.

Mr Sarkozy's wife, Cecilia, went to Streisand's sole concert in France, at 
Paris' Bercy stadium on Tuesday.

Ms Streisand told conservative Sarkozy he reminded her of former US 
presidents John F Kennedy and Bill Clinton, "who appreciated art, and 
recognised the importance of the arts in the world".

Created by Napoleon Bonaparte in the early 19th century, the Legion of 
Honour is France's elite national merit society.

Although foreigners cannot be officially inducted into the Legion, they are 
routinely made honorary recipients of the medal.

Recent inclusions were US comedian Jerry Lewis, Italian fashion designer 
Valentino and Pulitzer Prize-winning American novelist Norman Mailer.

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