Despite substantial resistance to his pro-business policies and a promise to raise the retirement age, Macron won 58.5 percent of the vote in the second round against the far-Marine right’s Le Pen.

On Saturday, Emmanuel Macron was sworn in as France’s president for a second term at a ceremony at the Elysee Palace, which was followed by the firing of canons at the Invalides grounds.

In a brief address, he stressed the importance of innovation in the face of enormous global and French difficulties, and stated that his second term will be “fresh” rather than just a continuation of the first.

“We need to establish a new manner together, away from stale conventions and rituals,” he stated, vowing to operate with “respect” and “consideration.”
He stressed the danger presented by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as well as global environmental problems.

Former presidents Francois Hollande and Nicolas Sarkozy, former prime ministers Edouard Philippe, Manuel Valls, Alain Juppe, and Jean-Pierre Raffarin, as well as religious leaders and other state officials, were among the 500 guests in attendance.

Macron’s inauguration brings to a close one political campaign and ushers in a another one – parliamentary elections in June.

The hard-left La France Insoumise, the Parti Socialiste, the Greens, and the Communist Party have forged a coalition to deny Macron a majority in parliament.

On Saturday, the right-wing Les Republicains were to convene a national council meeting.

On Monday, Macron will pay a visit to the European Parliament in Strasbourg for “Europe Day.”

Later this week, he travels to Berlin for the first time since his inauguration to meet German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.

Macron, 44, is the first president since the Fifth Republic’s founding in 1958 to be re-elected without being part of a coalition administration.

Macron’s new term officially begins on May 13 in the evening, while his prime minister, Jean Castex, remains in office.

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