Cult US filmmaker David Lynch was awarded France's top honour on Monday by President Nicolas Sarkozy, who praised his eclectic ‘genius’ before a room packed with film stars.
"My French is poor, but my heart is rich today thanks to you," Lynch told the president in halting French after receiving the Legion of Honour.
"It's no secret that I love France, the art-making, art-loving and art-supporting people of France," Lynch continued in English, flanked by his partner Emily Stofle, film director Roman Polanski, and actresses Fanny Ardant and Charlotte Rampling.
"I wish the very best for this great country and for you Mr president I wish you maximum success."
Sarkozy told Lynch that seeing "Elephant Man" as a teenager had "definitively convinced" him that "cinema was a highly important matter."
"I love your way of testing reality to discover the truth behind it," he told the man behind "Sailor and Lula", "Mulholland Drive" and the television series "Twin Peaks".
"I love your way of touching on everything: film, art, photography, even furniture. When I think people here call me the cannibal president, at last I meet a guy who wants to do more than I do!" he quipped.
Sarkozy said he appreciated Lynch's "honesty" and jokingly thanked him for his support despite the fact he was "not sure that you and your friends are one-hundred percent right-wing."
Lynch, who practices transcendental meditation in search of "peace and invincibility", ended the meeting by asking Sarkozy to build a tower of invincibility in Paris.