French President Jacques Chirac decorated US filmmaker Steven Spielberg with the Legion of Honor, the country's highest distinction, in a ceremony attended by a cluster of film stars.

"Our country loves cinema, all of cinema," said Chirac. "It is the essence of our fight for cultural diversity recognizing the equal dignity of all cultures," said the French leader before honoring Spielberg.

Chirac then evoked Spielberg's film Schindler's List, which he described as one of his personal favorites.

"In this difficult period where intolerance, racism, xenophobia, anti-Semitism and fanaticism are again manifesting themselves, it is essential for cinema to help us recall the horror of the unspeakable."

In his response, Spielberg, who had arrived from the northern town of Deauville where he is attending the 30th annual American Film Festival, warned that hatred was a global threat more dangerous than either AIDS or cancer.

"We live in a world right now which is not recognizable from what I experienced growing up in the 1950s and 1960s," he told Chirac.

"I commend your efforts in what you are doing about anti-Semitism here in France. We have to work very, very hard to make people understand that it is the differences we have to celebrate and not condemn."

"Sometimes the minorities have the most to contribute to a society," the Jewish director added.

Spielberg also paid tribute to legendary French film director Francois Truffaut, who died 20 years ago and who had starred in Spielberg's 1977 classic, Close Encounters of the Third Kind.

Attending the ceremony at the Elysee presidential palace were such French and American film personalities as Gwyneth Paltrow, Sophie Marceau, Nathalie Baye and Patrick Bruel.

The National Order of the Legion of Honor was founded by Napoleon Bonaparte and recognizes eminent service to the Republic of France.

在众星云集的典礼上，法国总统雅克·希拉克授予美国电影导演史蒂文·斯皮尔伯格法兰西共和国荣誉军团勋章，这是法国的最高荣誉。

“我们的国家热爱电影，所有电影。我们在努力营造文化多样性时，关键的一点就是要认识到各种文化具有平等的价值。”法国总统希拉克在给斯皮尔伯格颁奖前说。

随后，希拉克回忆起斯皮尔伯格的电影《辛德勒的名单》，他说这是他最喜欢的电影之一。

“在这个不容异说、种族歧视、仇外主义、反犹太主义、宗教狂热再一次交织呈现的艰难时期，用电影帮助我们回忆无法形容的恐惧是重要的。”

斯皮尔伯格刚刚参加了在北部小镇杜维勒举行的第30届美国电影节，又来参加该典礼。他在回答中提醒说仇恨是全球的威胁，它比爱滋病和癌症更危险。

他对希拉克说：“我们现在的世界和我成长时的20世纪50、60年代已经大不相同了。”

“我对你在法国抵制反犹太主义方面做出的努力表示赞扬。我们必须非常、非常努力地工作，让人们明白我们应该颂扬而不是谴责民族间的差异。”

犹太族导演（斯皮尔伯格）补充说：“有时候，少数民族为一个社会所做的贡献最大。”

斯皮尔伯格也对法国传奇人物、电影导演弗朗索瓦·特吕福表示赞扬。特吕福20年前去世，他曾在斯皮尔伯格1977年导演的经典之作《第三类接触》中扮演主角。

很多法国和美国电影名人出席了在法国总统官邸爱丽舍宫举行的庆典，其中包括格温妮丝·帕特洛、苏菲·玛索、娜塔莉·贝伊和派屈克·布乃尔。

法兰西共和国荣誉军团勋章是拿破伦·波拿巴创立的，用以表彰那些为法兰西共和国做出卓越贡献的人。