As he is sworn in for a second term, Emmanuel Macron proclaims a “democratic rebirth.”
At an Elysée Palace event, French President Emmanuel Macron promised an inclusive school system, accessible health care, and a stronger military.
As he was sworn in for a second term as President of France at the Elysée Palace, Emmanuel Macron described his reelection as a “fundamental democratic revival.”
Macron, who beat far-right challenger Marine Le Pen in the second round of voting two weeks ago, arrived to the strains of Handel played by the Garde Républicaine’s string quartet on Saturday and listened as the official results were read.
“From the return of war to Europe to the pandemic and the ecological emergency, rarely has our country been faced with such a combination of challenges. The French people have chosen a clear and explicit project for the future, a European project of independence, scientific, social and ecological progress,” he told the 500 guests in a relatively brief acceptance speech,
“It’s at the most difficult times that France shows the best of itself. At this moment when the century is changing, we have to map out a path and show a way forward together,” he said.
“Let us have the courage to look reality in the face. Let us be faithful to the values of freedom, equality, fraternity and secularism. Let us continue to love the Republic and all that it entails. Let us love our homeland.”
He stressed that his second five-year tenure would be a “new method,” not just a continuation of the first. He promised to “act” to create a “more inclusive” education system, “a universal health service,” greater sexual equality, and a stronger military.
“I have one aim and that is to serve, to serve our country … to serve my compatriots with a sense of duty … to serve our children and youngsters,” he said.
Following that, he shook hands with a number of visitors, including former presidents Nicolas Sarkozy and François Hollande, as well as current members of his cabinet, all of whom are expected to be reshuffled in the coming days.
He then walked to the Elysée grounds to pay tribute to the Tricolor while the Marseillaise was performed and a 21-gun salute was fired from the military complex of Les Invalides.
Macron, 44, is anticipated to name a new prime minister, as well as other ministers, after winning the election on April 24 with 58.55 percent of the vote over Le Pen. The government’s spokesperson, Gabriel Attal, assured France 2 that the government would not change before Macron’s second mandate begins on May 13th.
The ceremony took place on Saturday after the Parti Socialiste, the Greens/Ecologists, and the Communists formed a historic alliance for next month’s two-round parliamentary elections, led by radical left leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon of La France Insoumise (France Unbowed), who came in third place in the presidential election.
Various centrist and center-right forces have rallied around Macron under the banner Ensemble (Together); the president has renamed his La République en Marche (Republic on the Move) party Renaissance, which he founded five years ago to sweep him to power.
In his final five years in power, Macron will have to fight to keep control of the French parliament.
