Paris, May 7 (AFP\/APP): French President Emmanuel Macron was on Saturday inaugurated for a second term after his election victory over the far right, facing immense challenges in foreign and domestic policy following a first term which had often polarised the nation.<\/p>\n
In a ceremony at the Elysee Palace, Macron was confirmed by Constitutional Council chief Laurent Fabius as the winner of April presidential election and then signed the formal re-investiture document.<\/p>\n
Attended by a few hundred people including his wife Brigitte and his only surviving predecessors Francois Hollande and Nicolas Sarkozy, the ceremony was relatively modest but marked the first time a French leader is serving a second term in 20 years.<\/p>\n
Macron faces a daunting agenda of implementing the reforms he vowed when he came to power as France’s youngest-ever president in 2017, as well as dealing with the Russian assault against Ukraine.<\/p>\n
He is also indicating a more inclusive and understanding style of ruling after his first term saw critics complain the former investment banker had abrasive and arrogant methods.<\/p>\n
“I vow to build a planet that is more livable, a France that is more alive and a stronger France,” he said in a speech at the Elysee Palace, vowing a “new method” to govern.<\/p>\n
In a tradition dating back to the Middle Ages, 21 cannon shots are to be fired from the Invalides military memorial complex to celebrate the inauguration.<\/p>\n
With no drive down the Avenue des Champs-Elysees or long red carpet, the ceremony resembled the re-inaugurations of Francois Mitterrand in 1988 and Jacques Chirac in 2002, the last French president to win a second term.
\nMacron’s second term will only start officially when the first one expires at midnight on May 13.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Paris, May 7 (AFP\/APP): French President Emmanuel Macron was on Saturday inaugurated for a second term after his election victory over the far right, facing immense challenges in foreign and domestic policy following a first term which had often polarised the nation. In a ceremony […]<\/p>\n
\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":45124,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[270],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-45123","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-top-news"],"yoast_head":"\n