Macron takes reins of power
France’s youngest president vows to revive the country’s confidence
PARIS // Emmanuel Macron yesterday became France’s youngest president, promising at his inauguration to restore the country’s confidence and pledging to relaunch the flagging European Union.
Mr Macron, 39, a centrist, took the reins of power from socialist Francois Hollande at the presidential Elysee Palace in central Paris. A week ago, Mr Macron achieved a resounding victory over far-right leader Marine Le Pen in an election that was watched worldwide.
After a private meeting with Mr Hollande, his former mentor, and his first speech as president, Mr Macron drove up the rainy Champs Elysees in an army vehicle, waving to small crowds of well- wishers who gathered along the famed avenue.
Mr Macron said his first priority would be “to give back to the French people the confidence that for too long has been flagging”, and his second priority was to make France a beacon for democracy and freedom worldwide.
He said France’s place was in the European Union, “which protects us and enables us to project our values in the world”, but the 28-member bloc had to be “reformed and relaunched”.
Mr Macron also suggested that he would press on with his ambitious but controversial agenda to reform France’s rigid labour market and modernise the social security system despite the fierce resistance he is likely to meet.
“I will not reverse course on any of the commitments taken in front of the French people,” he said, adding that “France is strong only if she is prosperous”.
Some analysts and opponents have questioned the strength of Mr Macron’s mandate after he won 24.01 per cent in the first round of the presidential election on April 23 before his landslide victory over Ms Le Pen in the second.
His opponents on the far right and far left, who are both opposed to the EU and major economic reforms, won about 50 per cent of the first-round vote.
Mr Macron, a former invest- ment banker, was proclaimed president by Laurent Fabius, leader of the constitutional council, at the 18th- century presidential palace where Mr Macron and his wife, Brigitte, will now live.
Mrs Macron’s three children were also at the ceremony along with France’s political dignitaries and the young team of advisers behind Mr Macron’s rise.
One early political backer, Gerard Collomb, the mayor of the central city of Lyon, wept as Mr Macron greeted him. “In order to be the man of one’s country, one must be the man of your time,” Mr Fabius told Mr Macron, quoting the Romantic-era French writer Chateaubriand. “You are now the man of your time. And by the sovereign choice of the people, you are now, above all, the man of our country.”
At the end of the formalities, a 21-gun salute rang out from the Invalides military hospital on the other side of the River Seine.
‘ I will not reverse course on any of the commitments taken in front of the French people Emmanuel Macron French president
Mr Macron faces daunting challenges including tackling high unemployment and the ongoing threat of extremist violence, as well as healing divisions exposed by an often vicious election campaign.
Mr Hollande’s five years in office were plagued by a sluggish economy and terrorist attacks that killed more than 230 people. He leaves office after a single term.
Security was tight in Paris yesterday, with about 1,500 policemen near the presidential palace and on the Champs Elysees, and surrounding roads blocked off.
Mr Macron’s first week will be busy. Today, he is expected to reveal who he is appointing as prime minister, before visiting Berlin to meet German chancellor Angela Merkel.
It is 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. Mr Macron wants to push for closer cooperation to help the bloc overcome the imminent departure of Britain, another of its most powerful members.
He intends to press for the creation of a parliament and budget for the euro zone. Mrs Merkel welcomed Mr Macron’s decisive 32-point victory over Ms Le Pen, saying he carried “the hopes of millions of French people and also many in Germany and across Europe”. Next month, Mr Macron will need to win a majority in parliamentary elections to enact his ambitious reform agenda.
His 13- month- old political movement, Republique en Marche (Republic on the Move), intends to field candidates in virtually every constituency in the country.
It announced 428 of its 577 candidates this week. Half of them have never held elected office, including a retired female bullfighter and a star mathematician, and half of them are women.