France turns a page with new president
Young, pro-business progressive promises to restore economy
Invoking the national motto “liberty, equality, fraternity,” France’s 39-yearold new president, Emmanuel Macron, was sworn into office Sunday at the Élysée Palace in Paris, taking control of the nation from mentor François Hollande. Macron had a message for the country, tweeting, “I will be at work this evening” ahead of his first international trip Monday to meet with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin.
France’s youthful new president took office Sunday with a pledge to rebuild the country’s economy and listen to its citizens as he invoked the national motto: “liberty, equality, fraternity.”
Emmanuel Macron was inaugurated at the Élysée Palace in Paris, taking control of the country and its nuclear codes from mentor François Hollande. After posing for selfies with members of the political party he founded, Republic on the Move, Macron had a message for the country.
“I will be at work this evening,” the 39-year-old posted on Twitter following a day of ceremonies. Macron’s first international trip as president is scheduled for Monday: a meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin. Macron and his wife, Brigitte, 64, will live in the Élysée Palace.
A former economy minister with pro-business, pro-European views, Macron is the first French president who doesn’t originate from one of the country’s two mainstream parties. Macron leads a country that, when Britain leaves the European Union in 2019, will become the EU’s only member with nuclear weapons and a permanent seat on the U.N. Security Council.
Macron must now form a government and name a prime minister in advance of June elections. A political newcomer, Macron has recruited hundreds of progressive candidates to stand for election in what is widely seen as a repudiation of far-right politics represented by the candidate he defeated, Marine Le Pen. Many of the Republic on the Move candidates are newcomers in politics. Their average age is 46, compared with 60 for the outgoing assembly. Half of them are women. Only 24 are lawmakers running for re-election, all Socialists.
France has faced repeated terror attacks by Islamic militants, and Le Pen’s campaign focused on limiting immigration and withdrawing from the EU. President Trump stopped short of formally endorsing Le Pen but said she was the “strongest” on security. Former president Barack Obama, however, endorsed Macron, and voters swept him into office by a large margin.
Macron’s Republic on the Move party is considered progressive but with a practicality linked to his pro-business worldview. In his inauguration speech, Macron said he will do everything that is necessary to fight terrorism and authoritarianism and to resolve the world’s migration crisis.
Americans have been fascinated by Macron’s youth and his marriage to Brigitte, who is 24 years older than he is. The two met when he was a high school student and she was a married teacher with children. She eventually divorced, and the couple married a decade ago.