Francois Hollande sworn in as President of France

[Tender Branson]

SOCIALIST Francois Hollande has been sworn in at the Elysee Palace in Paris.



Outgoing president Nicolas Sarkozy greeted Hollande in the courtyard of the presidential palace and after shaking hands the two went into a private meeting for the handover of France's nuclear codes.

Hollande, 57, was then officially sworn in following that meeting, having defeated right-winger Sarkozy in an election on May 6 with 51.6 percent of the vote.

The ceremony itself was relatively simple, with no other heads of state invited, and Hollande accompanied only by his partner, journalist Valerie Trierweiler.

Afterwards, Hollande was due to take an open-topped ride up the Champs Elysees to the Arc de Triomphe, with crowds gathered along the route.

In separate ceremonies, Hollande 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.

Later today 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.

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/francois-hollande-sworn-in-as-president-of-france/story-e6frg6so-1226356620133

[Joe Republic]

Congratulations, Phil!

[Tender Branson]

The old and the new President:



The old and the new First Lady:

[Californian Tony]

[Tender Branson]

[Bacon King]

Sarko certainly looks a bit grumpy in that pic.

[Californian Tony]

It was really moving. I can't get myself to fully realize...

[Tender Branson]

Any word what the retiree will do now ? Head some organisation ? Giving speeches ?

[big bad fab]

[Californian Tony]

No Soviet tank in sight so far.

[Bacon King]

Oh, I almost forgot, but this makes Hollande the co-prince of Andorra now, too!

[Tender Branson]

Oh, I almost forgot, but this makes Hollande the co-prince of Andorra now, too!

Big f-ing deal !

[Proud Lieberal from Northeast]

Oh, I almost forgot, but this makes Hollande the co-prince of Andorra now, too!

Big fucking deal !

Don't forget Honorary Canon of the Basilica of St. John Lateran!

[Californian Tony]

Oh, I almost forgot, but this makes Hollande the co-prince of Andorra now, too!

Big fucking deal !

Don't forget Honorary Canon of the Basilica of St. John Lateran!

Pretty fun considering he's an atheist.

[Proud Lieberal from Northeast]

Oh, I almost forgot, but this makes Hollande the co-prince of Andorra now, too!

Big fucking deal !

Don't forget Honorary Canon of the Basilica of St. John Lateran!

Pretty fun considering he's an atheist.

Pretty much as Mitterrand.

Oh, in Andorra Francois is now styled "His Serene Highness", lol.

[Senator Snowstalker]

Andorra is truly the greatest nation in the world. It was at war with Imperial Germany until 1957 since they weren't invited to Versailles.

[Keystone Phil]

Then his plane got struck by lightening.

[Californian Tony]

Then his plane got struck by lightening.

Sarkozy's rage has probably turned into electricity.

[Redalgo]

Then his plane got struck by lightening.

Sarkozy's rage has probably turned into electricity.

Legend has it the bolts sometimes arc from his fingertips!

[Zioneer]

Oh, I almost forgot, but this makes Hollande the co-prince of Andorra now, too!

Wait, what? Isn't he a Socialist (specifically a member of the French Socialist Party)? Does that mean that there's a socialist monarch in the world right now?

[Secretary Polnut]

Oh, I almost forgot, but this makes Hollande the co-prince of Andorra now, too!

Wait, what? Isn't he a Socialist (specifically a member of the French Socialist Party)? Does that mean that there's a socialist monarch in the world right now?

If you've heard what I have about some of the positions of European Monarchs... there are more than you'd realise.

[Bacon King]

Oh, I almost forgot, but this makes Hollande the co-prince of Andorra now, too!

Wait, what? Isn't he a Socialist (specifically a member of the French Socialist Party)? Does that mean that there's a socialist monarch in the world right now?

Indeed, and it's not the first time.

In 1278 the Bishop of Urgell and the Count of Foix solved a dispute they had over Andorra and signed a paréage, declaring them to rule the territory jointly. The Count of Foix's descendants, inheriting their portion of control over Andorra, eventually became kings of France, and when France became a Republic the title passed to the French President.

So this is actually the fourth time, IIRC, a Socialist President has been His Serene Highness, Co-Prince of Andorra.

[Proud Lieberal from Northeast]

Oh, I almost forgot, but this makes Hollande the co-prince of Andorra now, too!

Wait, what? Isn't he a Socialist (specifically a member of the French Socialist Party)? Does that mean that there's a socialist monarch in the world right now?

Indeed, and it's not the first time.

In 1278 the Bishop of Urgell and the Count of Foix solved a dispute they had over Andorra and signed a paréage, declaring them to rule the territory jointly. The Count of Foix's descendants, inheriting their portion of control over Andorra, eventually became kings of France, and when France became a Republic the title passed to the French President.

So this is actually the fourth time, IIRC, a Socialist President has been His Serene Highness, Co-Prince of Andorra.

Third time. Millerand doesn't count.

Unless you meant Felix Gouin

[Old Europe]

Oh, I almost forgot, but this makes Hollande the co-prince of Andorra now, too!

Wait, what? Isn't he a Socialist (specifically a member of the French Socialist Party)? Does that mean that there's a socialist monarch in the world right now?

If you've heard what I have about some of the positions of European Monarchs... there are more than you'd realise.

Isn't Prince Charles a Greenie or something?

[Keystone Phil]

Yesterday certainly was a slow news day here: "New President of France is Sworn In" along with a fairly large picture of Hollande greeting a crowd was the center story (not quite a major headline. There wasn't one) on the front page of today's Philadelphia Inquirer.