Is the Légion d'honneur the equivalent of...?

Question

The Order of Australia or the Order of the British Empire? If not, what would be?

Answer 1

There are five grades in the Legion of Honor which is much like the OBE. The award is given to a large number of people (much like the OBE) and ther are currently around 100,000 members.

The grades are:

Grand-Croix (Grand Cross)

Grand Officier (Grand Officer)

Commandeur (Commander

Officier (Officer)

Chevalier (Knight)

The Ordre national du Mérite is the other French quasi-chivalric order.

.

Answer 2

It is the highest French decoration, has six grades, and is split between military and civilian. It can be given to foreigners.

There is a branch of it (arts) that is a laugh, as it is given to actors and such, but the rest still retains its importance.

It seems to be close to the Order of Australia in design, though much older (1802 vs 1975) and without any higher decoration over it.

Sorry, Rillifane, you forgot one rank :

Grand Maitre

I haven't found any abbreviation for the order, whenever I read the mention it was always in full. It might exist but it doesn't seem to be used much.