Related News
Hollande arrives at Elysee for French power handover
Source: Agencies |
May 15, 2012, Tuesday
|
Online Edition
Online Edition
Socialist Francois Hollande arrived at the Elysee Palace in Paris today for the handover of power from outgoing President Nicolas Sarkozy.
Sarkozy greeted Hollande in the courtyard of the presidential palace and after shaking hands the two went into a private meeting where the handover of France's nuclear codes is to take place.
Hollande, 57, was to be officially sworn in following the meeting, after he defeated right-winger Sarkozy in a May 6 election with 51.6 percent of the vote.
The ceremony itself will be relatively simple, with no other heads of state invited, and Hollande accompanied only by his partner, journalist Valerie Trierweiler.
Afterwards, Hollande was to take an open-topped ride in a Citroen DS5 hybrid up the Champs Elysees to the Arc de Triomphe, waving to the crowd.
In separate ceremonies, he will then pay tribute to 19th-century educational reformer Jules Ferry -- father of France's free, secular education system -- and to Marie Curie, the Nobel Prize-winning chemist.
At 1400 GMT Hollande will fly to Berlin, where he faces an uncertain reception from Chancellor Angela Merkel.
Hollande has vowed to refocus European economic policy on growth by re-opening talks on a fiscal pact agreed in March that aims to control European debt by enshrining greater budget discipline.
The deal was Merkel's brainchild and she has repeatedly insisted since Hollande's election that the pact, signed by 25 of the 27 EU countries and already ratified in some, is not open to renegotiation.
Sarkozy greeted Hollande in the courtyard of the presidential palace and after shaking hands the two went into a private meeting where the handover of France's nuclear codes is to take place.
Hollande, 57, was to be officially sworn in following the meeting, after he defeated right-winger Sarkozy in a May 6 election with 51.6 percent of the vote.
The ceremony itself will be relatively simple, with no other heads of state invited, and Hollande accompanied only by his partner, journalist Valerie Trierweiler.
Afterwards, Hollande was to take an open-topped ride in a Citroen DS5 hybrid up the Champs Elysees to the Arc de Triomphe, waving to the crowd.
In separate ceremonies, he will then pay tribute to 19th-century educational reformer Jules Ferry -- father of France's free, secular education system -- and to Marie Curie, the Nobel Prize-winning chemist.
At 1400 GMT Hollande will fly to Berlin, where he faces an uncertain reception from Chancellor Angela Merkel.
Hollande has vowed to refocus European economic policy on growth by re-opening talks on a fiscal pact agreed in March that aims to control European debt by enshrining greater budget discipline.
The deal was Merkel's brainchild and she has repeatedly insisted since Hollande's election that the pact, signed by 25 of the 27 EU countries and already ratified in some, is not open to renegotiation.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
