Culture minister Christine Albanel called the singer 'princess of pop, the uncontested queen of the dance floor', and noted that much of the star's entourage includes French artists such as clothes designer Jean Paul Gaultier. The minister also praised Kylie for her personal courage in the battle against breast cancer. Kylie has made a career comeback since beating breast cancer in 2005.

"The heart in French also refers to courage, and I want to salute the courage you have shown in publicly revealing, three years ago, that you had been stricken with breast cancer", the minister said. The French award is Kylie's second in recent months. Queen Elizabeth named her Officer of the Order of the British Empire at the start of the year.

Kylie began her career in the 1980's and has sold more than 40 million albums worldwide, is best known for her electro dance moves and such singles as Can't Get You Out Of My Head.