Youthful Macron promises to relaunch France

EMMANUEL Macron was inaugurated yest to become France’s youngest-ever president saying the country had chosen “hope” and promising to relaunch the flagging European Union.

Macron, 39 and a centrist, took the reins of power from Francois Hollande a week after he won a resounding victory over far-right leader Marine Le Pen in a tumultuous election.

After a warm welcome from Hollande at the Elysee Palace, the two men held a closed-doors meeting during which Macron was handed the codes to launch France’s nuclear arsenal.

In a moment heavy with symbolism, 62-yearold Hollande – who launched Macron’s political career by appointing him first as advisor and then economy minister – was then driven away from the palace to applause from his staff and the new president.

The former investment banker who had never even contested an election before was then proclaimed president by Laurent Fabius, president of the Constitutional Council.

The new president faces a host of daunting challenges including high unemployment, Islamist-inspired violence and a deeply divided country.

Socialist Hollande’s five years in power were plagued by a sluggish economy and bloody terror attacks that killed more than 230 people and he leaves office after a single term.

Macron’s first week will be busy. Today, he is expected to reveal the closely-guarded name of his prime minister, before flying to Berlin.

It is virtually a rite of passage for French leaders to make their first European trip to meet the leader of the other half of the so-called “motor” of the EU.

Pro-EU Macron wants to push for closer cooperation to help the bloc overcome the imminent departure of Britain.

He intends to press for the creation of a parliament and budget for the eurozone.

Merkel welcomed Macron’s decisive 32-point victory over Le Pen, saying he carried “the hopes of millions of French people and also many in Germany and across Europe”.

In June, Macron faces what the French media are calling a “third round of the presidential election” when the country elects a new parliament in a two-round vote.

The new president needs an outright majority to be able to enact his ambitious reform agenda.

The year-old political movement “Republique en Marche” (Republic on the Move, REM) that he formed to launch his presidential bid intends to field candidates in virtually every constituency in the country. — AFP