ATHENS — The President of the Hellenic Republic Katerina Sakellaropoulou on Wednesday bestowed with the decoration of the Commander of the Order of Honour to Archaeologist and President of the Louvre Museum Jean-Luc Martinez for his contribution to promoting Ancient Greek civilisation.

Sakellaropoulou praised his valuable offer to the Louvre and focused on his involvement with archaeology and his relationship with Greece and its culture, underlining that the arrangement and cataloguing of the sculptures of the Delphi Museum, his participation in the Greek-French excavations of the ancient Gymnasium in Delphi, along with the excavations on Delos are only a part of Martinez's substantial contribution to the promotion of Greek civilisation.

On his part, Martinez thanked Sakellaropoulou for the great honour, underlining his love for Greece and noting that, through him, France and French Philhellenism were also being honoured.

The ceremony was attended by Culture Minister Lina Mendoni, the Ambassador of France to Greece Patrick Maisonnave, the director of the National Gallery Marina Lambraki-Plaka, the director of the French School in Athens Veronique Chankowski, the head of the culture ministry's museums directorate Anastassia Lazaridou and the head of Fokida Antiquities Ephorate Athanassia Psalti.