French President Emmanuel Macron awarded UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer the Légion d'honneur (France's highest order of merit) in Paris during Bastille Day celebrations, making Starmer the first sitting British prime minister to receive the honour from a French president. Macron credited Starmer's "personal leadership" in co-chairing the coalition of the willing — a 30-plus-nation alliance pledging military and financial support to Ukraine — at a pivotal moment for European security in early 2025. The ceremony, one of Starmer's final international engagements before leaving office, was attended by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, both of whom praised his steadfast role in rallying Western backing for Kyiv.