Thursday, May 22, 2008 | 2:37 p.m.
Attention housekeeping staff at the Lake Las Vegas mansion: Celine Dion received another honor today. A big one. French president Nicolas Sarkozy presented the French-Canadian singer with the Legion of Honour, a medal created by Napoleon in 1802 to honor France’s civilian and military heroes.
Dion was originally granted the medal in 2005 but was unable to appear because of her commitment to her Caesars Palace engagement in Las Vegas. No word on which of her 3,000 pairs of shoes she wore to the event.
It would't be a Celine story without some critics spoiling her fun: Some of Sarkozy’s left-wing critics, who have dubbed him "President Bling-Bling" for his flashy lifestyle and attraction to celebrities and billionaires, are saying the once-prestigious distinction is being cheapened.
"The honour is handed out “to anyone these days,” griped the Marianne news magazine. "Has she saved the planet? Found a cure for AIDS? Legalized adoption for gay parents? Not at all, she represents success and the 400th anniversary of the founding of Quebec City. That’s it.”
Dion can add the Legion of Honour to her two Academy Awards, three Golden Globe Awards, five Grammy Awards, 11 World Music Awards, seven American Music Awards, seven Billboard Music Awards, 21 Juno Awards, 38 Félix Awards and many others.
Also in CD news, she's a fan of Sarah Jessica Parker and "Sex and the City," and when Dion found out fellow shoe-fancier SJP was staying in the same Paris hotel, there was some high level girl talk going on.
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