LAFAYETTE, La. (Leigh Guidry/The Advertiser)- Zachary Richard has had a love affair with French education since his days as a Lafayette eighth-grader.

He found inspiration in French literature, something he still experiences today. That’s why, whenever possible, he connects what he’s doing to a school providing French education.

So when he was told he would be promoted to the rank of officer in The Ordre des Palmes Académiques (French Academic Palms), he decided to accept the purple medal at Myrtle Place Elementary, a French immersion elementary school in Lafayette.

“If I can use this occasion to do what I’m being recognized for doing, which is promoting French education, I will,” Richard said Monday in a room filled with Lafayette students. 

The Palms is a national order bestowed by the French Republic to distinguished academics and figures in the world of culture and education. 

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