The Ordre du Mérite indochinois (Indochinese Order of Merit) was a regional award of France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 awarded by the Governor-General of Indochina for the local population of French Indochina

French Indochina

French Indochina was part of the French colonial empire in southeast Asia. A federation of the three Vietnamese regions, Tonkin , Annam , and Cochinchina , as well as Cambodia, was formed in 1887....

.

History

Established April 30, 1900 by Governor-General of French Indochina Paul Doumer

Paul Doumer

Joseph Athanase Paul Doumer, commonly known as Paul Doumer was the President of France from 13 June 1931 until his assassination.-Biography:...

 the order was to reward the local population of Indo-China for services to agriculture, commerce, industry and art. This award had no status as an official French colonial award but was a local only award for the population of Laos, Cambodia

Cambodia

Cambodia , officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia...

, Tonkin

Tonkin

Tonkin , also spelled Tongkin, Tonquin or Tongking, is the northernmost part of Vietnam, south of China's Yunnan and Guangxi Provinces, east of northern Laos, and west of the Gulf of Tonkin. Locally, it is known as Bắc Kỳ, meaning "Northern Region"...

, Cochin China, and Annam. Governed by an Order Council, it was divided into three classes with limit on the number of members for each class. The 3rd class, was limited to 500 members. The 2nd Class, was limited to 100 members. The 1st class, was limited to 15 members.

Description

The badge of the order is a ball tipped six-pointed star with concave sides. In the center of the star is a round rimmed medallion. In the center of the medallion is the inscription in Annamese ideographic writing "It is worthy to develop knowledge". On the rim is the inscription INDOCHINE FRANCAISE (French Indochina). Attached to the ball of the top most arm of the star are two laurel branches, which act as a ring to attach the star to its ribbon. The ribbon of the order is yellow Moire silk. The Order was presented in the 1st degree in gold, 2nd degree silver, and third degree bronze.