France has bestowed the Legion of Honor on 13 foreign nationals, including a journalist for CNN.
CNN senior international correspondent Jim Bittermann, one of the longest-serving international journalists in France and a founder and co-president of the European American Press Association, learned of the award Thursday as he was preparing to cover the visit of Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni with French President Nicolas Sarkozy.
"This came as a complete surprise, without warning," said Bittermann, who is also a professor of broadcast journalism at The American University of Paris.