Ward of the Nation (Pupille de la Nation) is a French civil status allocated by the State to those who have a parent who was injured or killed in war, or (since the November 2015 Paris attacks) during a terrorist incident, or while carrying out certain public services.[1]
Partly symbolic as "adoptees of the Nation" and partly remunerative, it goes beyond a Ward of the State, which in France is a minor person, such as an orphan, under the care and responsibility of the French state.[2]
It is administered by the National Office of Wards of the Nation [fr], created by the Law of 27 July 1917 [fr][3] and is part of the French Ministry of National Education.