Fire Fighters Medal of Honor
Verified 06 February 2026 - Public Service / (Prime Minister)
The firefighters' medal of honor is intended to reward professional firefighters and the volunteer firefighters who have consistently demonstrated dedication in the performance of their duties or who went there particularly distinguished. You want to know the conditions of obtaining, how is the seniority calculated and if it can be withdrawn from you? We present you the information to know.
Please note
The Fire Fighters Medal of Honor includes the seniority medal and the medal with rosette for exceptional services.
Medal of seniority
The seniority medal is awarded to professional or volunteer firefighters who have consistently demonstrated dedication in the performance of their duties.
The seniority medal firefighters includes 4 steps :
- Bronzegranted after 10 years of service
- Moneygranted after 20 years of service
- Goldgranted after 30 years of service
- Grand'orgranted after 40 years of service.
The services taken into account for the allocation of seniority medal firefighters are the following :
- Services performed as a professional firefighter, volunteer firefighter, Paris firefighter, Marseille firefighter and military of the military formations of civil security
- Services performed under active national service or civic service
- Military service in wartime
- National certificate of young firefighter provides 1 year of additional seniority.
FYI
Services performed at the same time are not counted several times.
Certain periods of absence shall be taken into account in calculating seniority. These are the following periods:
- Maternity and adoption leave
- Part-time services shall be taken into account in proportion to the service time completed.
Warning
The seniority medal cannot be awarded more than 5 years after the end of the term of office professional or volunteer firefighter.
It cannot be attributed to members of the Legion of Honor or the National Order of Merit and holders of the military medal in the 3 years after their appointment, their promotion or elevation in these orders.
The seniority medal cannot not be awarded if you are in one of the following :
- You were convicted of crime or to a sentence of imprisonment without reprieve equal to or greater than 1 year
- You have been subject to a disciplinary sanction (for example, temporary exclusion from duty for a maximum of 6 months, demotion, termination of the appointment) recorded in your individual file.
The seniority medal is awarded, on proposal of the hierarchical authority, by the prefect of the department in which the functions are performed.
The prefectural decree of attribution of the seniority medal is published in the Official Bulletin of Decorations, Medals and Awards of the French Republic.
The delivery of the seniority medal takes place on July 14 and the December 4.
When you receive the medal, you also get a diploma.
FYI
Between these two promotions, the medal can be awarded at ceremonies of an exceptional nature or presided over by a member of the government (or his representative).
Yes, the seniority medal can be removed in one of the following :
- Conviction for crime
- Sentencing of imprisonment without reprieve equal to or greater than 1 year
- Disciplinary penalty resulting in dismissal of managers or termination of the appointment
- Failure to honor resulting in a conviction or disciplinary sanction.
Medal with rosette
The medal with rosette for exceptional services may be attributed to a professional or volunteer firefighter who has distinguished himself or herself in the performance of his or her duties.
The medal with rosette for exceptional services of a firefighter comprises 3 steps :
- Money, awarded to a firefighter who has distinguished himself in the performance of his duties
- Vermeilawarded after a minimum of 5 years to the holder of the silver medal
- Goldawarded after a minimum of 5 years to the holder of the vermeil medal.
FYI
The gold medal with rosette may be awarded without seniority conditions to personnel killed in the performance of their duties.
The medal with rosette for exceptional services can not be awarded to you if you are in one of the following :
- You were convicted of crime or to a sentence of imprisonment without reprieve equal to or greater than 1 year
- You have been subject to a disciplinary sanction (for example, temporary exclusion from duty for a maximum of 6 months, demotion, termination of the appointment) recorded in your individual file.
The medal with rosette for exceptional services is awarded, on proposal of the hierarchical authority, by the minister of the interior.
The ministerial order granting the medal with rosette for exceptional services is published in the Official Bulletin of Decorations, Medals and Awards of the French Republic.
The delivery of the medal with rosette for exceptional services takes place on July 14 and the December 4.
When you receive the medal, you also get a diploma.
The medal with rosette for exceptional services may be given to you by one of the following:
- Minister of the Interior
- Director-General for Civil Security and Crisis Management, Directors and Heads of Service of the Directorate-General for Civil Security and Crisis Management
- Prefect and sub-prefect
- Departmental Fire Chiefs.
FYI
Between these two promotions, the medal may be awarded at ceremonies of an exceptional nature or presided over by a member of the Government (or his representative).
Yes, the medal with rosette for exceptional services can be removed in one of the following :
- Conviction for crime
- Sentencing of imprisonment without reprieve equal to or greater than 1 year
- Disciplinary penalty resulting in dismissal of managers or termination of the appointment
- Failure to honor resulting in a conviction or disciplinary sanction.