Pelicot is among 589 individuals to receive the distinction this year, according to the presidential list of honorees.
Pelicot made headlines after choosing to waive her right to anonymity during the criminal trial of her husband, Dominique Pelicot. According to the prosecution, he drugged and raped her over the course of nearly ten years and invited other men to participate in the assaults.
Explaining her decision to appear in court, Pelicot said she wanted to "swap the shame"—to take it off the shoulders of victims and place it squarely on the perpetrators. Her courageous stand was widely seen as a turning point in public discourse about sexual violence in France.
Dominique Pelicot was convicted of aggravated rape and sentenced to the maximum 20 years in prison.
