A French magazine has revealed that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Nayef himself requested to be honored with France’s most prestigious award, the Legion d’Honneur. Earlier this month French president Francois Hollande ‘discreetly’ awarded the country’s top honor to the heir to the Saudi throne “for his efforts in the region and around the world to combat extremism and terrorism.” Nayef allegedly said he had asked for the honor to help to boost his international reputation. Press TV reports: Causette published this week a series of email exchanges between French officials showing they accepted a request by the Saudi prince to award him the prestigious award earlier this month. “No reason not to do it: It must be discreet concerning the media, without covering it up,” said the North Africa/Middle East director of the French Foreign Ministry in response to warnings that the awarding would raise questions due to Saudi Arabia’s bad reputation in human rights. The French ambassador to Riyadh had warned advisors in the presidency and foreign ministry ahead of the awarding that the move may stir controversy in the media. The official in the foreign ministry responded by saying that if questioned why the award should be given [...]