- Title: Pro-European centrist Emmanuel Macron becomes president of France
- Date: 14th May 2017
- Summary: PARIS, FRANCE (MAY 14, 2017) (REUTERS) FRENCH AND EUROPEAN UNION FLAGS WAVING FROM PALACE
- Embargoed: 28th May 2017 15:59
- Keywords: Brigitte Francois Hollande handover inauguration Emmanuel Macron
- Location: PARIS, FRANCE
- City: PARIS, FRANCE
- Country: France
- Topics: Government/Politics,Elections/Voting
- Reuters ID: LVA0026GT8N5Z
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Emmanuel Macron took power as president of France on Sunday (May 14), vowing to restore the country's status in Europe and the world and heal divisions in society -- a nod to the bitter campaign the pro-EU centrist fought to defeat a far-right leader.
The 39-year-old former investment banker, unknown to the wider public three years ago and whose May 7 election marked a meteoric rise to power, was inaugurated leader of the world's fifth-largest economy in a solemn Elysee Palace ceremony.
He is the youngest post-war French leader and the first to be born after 1958, when President Charles de Gaulle put in place the country's Fifth Republic.
Macron assumed power after an hour-long private meeting with outgoing President Francois Hollande, 62, in which official access to France's nuclear missile launch codes was handed over.
Macron, once Hollande's economy minister, then accompanied his former mentor down the red carpet to a waiting car.
He must now try to win a majority in June's parliamentary elections for his start-up Republic on the Move (REM) party, which has blown apart traditional French political boundaries.
On Monday (May 15), Macron is set to name his prime minister, whose job will be to pilot liberalising reforms aimed at reducing joblessness and reviving economic growth. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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