e_Paper, Monday, May 15, 2017

4
MONDAY, MAY 15, 2017
DT
News
Macron takes power as French president
• AFP, Paris
Emmanuel Macron became France’s
youngest ever president on Sunday,
promising at his inauguration to restore
the country’s lost confidence
and pledging to relaunch the flagging
European Union.
Macron, a 39-year-old centrist,
took the reins of power from Socialist
Francois Hollande at the
Elysee Palace a week after his resounding
victory over far-right
leader Marine Le Pen in an election
that was watched worldwide.
After a private meeting with his
former mentor Hollande and his
first speech as president, Macron
headed up the rainy Champs Elysees
in an army vehicle, waving to
small crowds of wellwishers who
gathered along the famed avenue.
Macron said his first priority
would be “to give back to the
French people the confidence that
for too long has been flagging”,
while the second would be making
France a beacon for democracy and
AFP
freedom worldwide.
France’s place was in the EU
“which protects us and enables us
to project our values in the world,”
but he said the 28-member bloc
needed to be “reformed and relaunched.”
Macron also suggested 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.”
PM named, then Berlin
Macron’s first week will be busy.
On Monday, he is expected to reveal
the closely-guarded name of
his prime minister, before flying to
Berlin to meet German Chancellor
Angela Merkel.
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, another of its
most powerful members.
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”.
Further ahead in June, Macron
will need to win a majority in parliamentary
elections to enact his
ambitious reform agenda. •