PARIS: Emmanuel Macron becomes France´s youngest ever president on Sunday, taking over from Socialist Francois Hollande in a solemn ceremony.Macron, a 39-year-old centrist, arrived at the Elysee Palace in central Paris in a motorcade and walked down the red carpet under light rain to be greeted by Hollande for his inauguration.The new president´s wife Brigitte, a 64-year-old who was his high school drama teacher, arrived separately for the ceremony wearing a light blue Louis Vuitton outfit.A week after his victory over far-right leader Marine Le Pen in a tumultuous election, Macron will have a private meeting with Hollande at which he will be given the codes to launch France´s nuclear weapons.He will then attend a ceremony in front of hundreds of politicians and invited guests at which the official election results will be read out.At the end of the formalities, a 21-gun salute is to ring out from the Invalides military hospital on the other side of the River Seine.Macron will then be driven to the Arc de Triomphe to lay a wreath at the tomb of the unknown soldier.The new president faces a host of daunting challenges including tackling stubbornly high unemployment, fighting Islamist-inspired violence and uniting a deeply divided country.Socialist Hollande´s five years in power were plagued by a sluggish economy and bloody terror attacks that killed more than 230 people and he leaves office after a single term.The 64-year-old launched Macron´s political career, plucking him from the world of investment banking to be an advisor and then his economy minister.”I am not handing over power to a political opponent, it´s far simpler,” Hollande said on Thursday.Security was tight with around 1,500 police officers deployed near the presidential palace and the nearby Champs Elysees avenue and surrounding roads were blocked off.After a formal lunch, Macron will visit Paris´s town hall, a traditional stop for any new French president in his “host” city.
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