Macron decorates rights activist Jesse Jackson

French President Emmanuel Macron (left) greets Reverend Jesse Jackson after awarding him with the Legion of Honour at the Elysee Palace yesterday. (Reuters)

French President Emmanuel Macron decorated veteran American civil rights activist Reverend Jesse Jackson yesterday with France’s highest order of merit, the Legion of Honour. Macron said that Jackson had spent his life fighting for the same values as the French republic and he called him a “great friend” of the country, noting his role in helping free French hostages during the first Gulf War. Jackson, 79, said he was “deeply honoured” by the award, adding: “I have received several honours from around the globe but this one is among the very special ones because of France’s continuing courageous and moral leadership around the world.” Baptist minister Jackson, was a companion of Martin Luther King in the 1960s. After running for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1984 and 1988, he was appointed by Bill Clinton as his envoy to Africa. Jackson announced in 2017 that he was suffering from Parkinson’s disease.