Macron becomes president of France after handover with Hollande

Emmanual Macron formally became the President of France on the 14 May 2017 follwing a handover of power from the outgoing François Hollande. This followed the victory of Mr Macron in the second round of the French Presidential Election held on the 7 May 2017.

While the new President in his inauguration speech vowed to restore the country's self-confidence, commentators noted the challenges he faced including:

+ to reunite France
+ to break the traditional right-left split in French politics
+ Distrust in politicians
+ Unemployment
+ Terrorism
+ EU reform

President Macron was expected to name his prime minister on the 15 May 2017 and other members of his government the following day. He was also due to make a symbolically important visit to meet German Chancellor Angela Merkel - his first overseas trip as President - on the 15 May 2017.

There was also the matter of the forthcoming French legislative elections in June 2017 to consider

ESO: Key source: France Presidential Election 2017 http://www.europeansources.info/record/french-presidential-election-2017/

The Local.fr, 14.05.17: Emmanuel Macron vows to make France feel great again after becoming new president https://www.thelocal.fr/20170514/emmanuel-macron-becomes-frances-youngest-ever-president

The Local.fr, 14.05.17: [Analysis]: The six big challenges facing France's new president Emmanuel Macron https://www.thelocal.fr/20170514/emmanuel-macron-analysis-five-challenges-for-frances-new-president

Deutsche Welle, 14.05.17: France's Macron takes power, now faces challenge of governing http://p.dw.com/p/2cwH1

BBC News, 14.05.17: Emmanuel Macron inauguration: French president vows new start http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-39912104

The Guardian, 14.05.17: Emmanuel Macron inaugurated as president with Paris under tight security https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/may/14/emmanuel-macron-inaugurated-as-president-paris-tight-security

Politico, 14.05.17: Macron outlines presidency as he is sworn in http://www.politico.eu/article/emmanuel-macron-to-name-prime-minister-on-monday/

ESO: Key source: French legislative election, 2017 http://www.europeansources.info/record/french-legislative-election-2017/

EurActiv, 15.05.17: Macron takes over as president, promising to relaunch the EU http://www.euractiv.com/section/elections/news/macron-takes-over-as-president-promising-to-relaunch-the-eu/

Euro|Topics: Debates, May 2017: Can Macron's experiment succeed? http://www.eurotopics.net/en/179128/can-macron-s-experiment-succeed

Blog: Martens Centre, 15.05.17: The mysterious Monsieur Macron https://www.martenscentre.eu/blog/mysterious-monsieur-macron

France: Embassy in UK, 15.05.17: World needs 'a strong France', says new President https://uk.ambafrance.org/World-needs-a-strong-France-says-new-President

CAPX, 16.05.17: How Macron can fix France’s despair https://capx.co/can-macron-fix-frances-despair/

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