What is the Ministry of the Interior medal on an anti-theft backpack?
We are often asked in stores or in messages: what exactly is the Ministry of the Interior medal? The direct answer is that it is an award given as part of the Concours Lépine, where the ministry awards a Ministry of the Interior Prize each year to the inventions deemed most relevant for everyday security. At Arsayo, this medal rewards a specific object: the patented anti-theft closure system of our backpacks, not the brand in general.
This distinction has nothing to do with the internal security medal awarded to police officers, gendarmes, and civil security agents for exceptional service. We will detail the difference below, in a dedicated box, to cut short any confusion between these two medals that bear almost the same name.
Where does the Ministry of the Interior medal come from? The Concours Lépine explained
A inventors' competition over 120 years old
In 1901, Louis Lépine, then Prefect of Police of Paris, founded the Association of French Inventors and Manufacturers and created the Concours Lépine. More than a century later, the event is still held every spring at the Foire de Paris and remains a reference for French inventors, all categories combined: everyday objects, health, mobility, security...
Each edition concludes with an official award ceremony. The highest distinction remains the Grand Prix, awarded by the President of the Republic and materialized by a vase from the Manufacture de Sèvres offered by the Élysée, while gold, silver, and bronze medals reward the other prize-winning inventions.
The Ministry of the Interior Prize, a separate award
In addition to this general prize list, several institutions and ministries award their own prizes to inventions that relate to their field. This is the case of the Ministry of the Interior, which annually selects the most useful innovations in terms of personal and property security. The competition's prize list still today devotes a line to this Ministry of the Interior Prize, associated with a Grand Medal and the Gold Medal of the Concours Lépine: the formula is therefore neither exceptional nor invented, it exists edition after edition.
In Arsayo's case, this recognition was obtained for the patented secure closure system of our backpacks, during the Europe edition of the Concours Lépine in 2016. The brand had the honor of winning the Gold Medal twice at the Concours Lépine, a recognition that made its anti-theft closure system known far beyond its first customers. Other distinctions have been added since, such as the Ministry of the Interior Prize, which now appears on the product sheets of the brand's historic backpacks.
What does this medal concretely guarantee for you, the buyer?
To be honest: this medal is not an AFNOR standard, nor a mandatory safety label, nor a certification issued by an independent control body. It is an invention award, granted by a jury that includes representatives of the ministry, to salute an innovation deemed genuinely useful, in this case, a mechanical system that makes pickpocketing much more difficult to carry out discreetly.
Concretely, on our backpacks, this translates into a closure that is worn against the back rather than on the accessible outer side. This system relies on mechanical protection, simple, rather than on an electronic process like digital recognition or RFID: it becomes very difficult to open the bag without its owner immediately feeling it. The medal therefore guarantees that this mechanism has been judged ingenious and effective enough to be publicly distinguished, not that no theft is ever possible anywhere. No bag, no lock, no system in the world can promise absolute security against a determined thief and an unfavorable context; what this distinction guarantees is real engineering work behind the closure, not an empty marketing argument.
Not to be confused with the internal security medal
This is the most common confusion, and it deserves to be clarified in black and white. The internal security medal was created by decree n° 2012-424 of March 28, 2012. It is intended to reward particularly honorable services, such as exceptional commitment, intervention in a difficult context or action exceeding the normal scope of service, rendered by police officers, gendarmes, firefighters or agents belonging to internal security in the broad sense.
The two distinctions therefore have neither the same object, nor the same public, nor the same purpose:
- The internal security medal rewards people for their service actions, within a professional public security framework.
- The Ministry of the Interior Prize awarded at the Concours Lépine rewards an invention, within an innovation competition open to the general public and businesses.
The name is similar, as is the official process surrounding it (jury, ceremony, ministry), but the two medals are not intended to be compared. No backpack brand can claim the internal security medal, which is reserved for security personnel, and conversely, the latter has never aimed to certify a commercial product.
How to recognize a prize-winning Arsayo backpack?
On arsayo.com, the models concerned display the mention "patented secure closure, Ministry of the Interior medal, 2 Gold medals at the Concours Lépine" directly in their description. This is notably the case for the Original backpack, which has carried this innovation from the beginning.
If you are looking for an anti-theft bag with an official, verifiable medal rather than a simple commercial argument, take a look at the Arsayo Original Vegan backpack: its closure is exactly the one distinguished at the Concours Lépine, combined with a design conceived for daily use in the city as well as for travel.
FAQ
What is the Ministry of the Interior medal?
It is a prize awarded during the Concours Lépine, an inventors' competition organized annually in Paris, by which the Ministry of the Interior distinguishes an invention deemed particularly useful for the security of people or property. It is not a legal standard or a mandatory certification, but an innovation award granted by a jury.
Why did Arsayo receive this medal?
Arsayo received it for the patented anti-theft closure system of its backpacks, alongside two Gold medals at the Concours Lépine, during the Europe 2016 edition. This recognition followed the filing of the patent protecting the brand's closure mechanism.
Does this medal guarantee that my bag cannot be stolen?
No, no medal or system can guarantee absolute security. It certifies that a jury, including representatives of the ministry, judged the closure mechanism ingenious enough to make discreet opening significantly more difficult to achieve without being noticed by the wearer.
Is it the same as the internal security medal for police officers?
No, these are two entirely different distinctions despite the resemblance of their names. The internal security medal, created by decree in 2012, rewards individuals (police officers, gendarmes, civil security agents) for exceptional service. The Ministry of the Interior Prize of the Concours Lépine rewards an invention, within the framework of a competition open to companies and individuals.
Sources
- Our institution — Concours Lépine
- Awards — Concours Lépine
- Awards edition 2026 — Concours Lépine
- Internal Security Medal — Wikipedia
- Internal Security Medal — Prefecture of Morbihan
- Arsayo's solution to prevent pickpockets — LianaPress, 2025
- ARSAYO Backpack — Amazon product sheet
