Paris, France | AFP | French President Emmanuel Macron appointed his first cabinet on Wednesday mixing Socialists, centrists and rightwingers with newcomers to politics as he pressed ahead with plans to create a broad governing coalition. The new cabinet of 22 people meets campaign pledges of being smaller than its …
Read More »Macron names centre-right Edouard Philippe as French PM
Paris, France | AFP | France’s new President Emmanuel Macron named Edouard Philippe, a little-known centre-right mayor, as prime minister on Monday, in his first major decision since taking power on a promise to lead a French “renaissance”. Philippe, a 46-year-old MP and mayor of the northern port of Le Havre, …
Read More »FRANCE: Hollande hands over power to Macron
Macron takes power as French president Paris, France | AFP | Emmanuel Macron became France’s youngest ever president on Sunday, promising at his inauguration to restore the country’s lost confidence and relaunch the flagging European Union. Macron, a 39-year-old centrist, took the reins of power from Socialist Francois Hollande at …
Read More »French president Macron’s top quotes at inauguration
French president Macron’s top quotes at inauguration Paris, France | AFP | Emmanuel Macron took over as French president on Sunday, promising to heal the country’s divisions and breathe new life into the European Union. Here are quotes from his inauguration speech: – On France – “The time has come for …
Read More »Brigitte Macron: French president’s teacher-turned-wife
Paris, France | AFP | Once his high school drama teacher, now wife of incoming French president Emmanuel Macron, 64-year-old Brigitte Macron stepped into the spotlight long before her husband was elected. The 25-year age difference and the extraordinary way they met — he pursued her when he was her …
Read More »Macron’s party unveils Rwanda-born candidate for French parliamentary polls
Macron’s party unveils new faces for French parliamentary polls, including Rwanda-born candidate Paris, France | AFP | French president-elect Emmanuel Macron’s party on Thursday unveiled more than 400 candidates who will stand in parliamentary elections in June, with half of them newcomers to politics and half of them women. It …
Read More »North Korea congratulates France’s Macron for election victory
Seoul, South Korea | AFP | North Korea on Tuesday congratulated Emmanuel Macron on his victory in the French presidential election, expressing hopes that the new leader will achieve “development and prosperity”. France has no formal diplomatic relations with the nuclear-armed North. The message was sent by North Korea’s ceremonial …
Read More »‘Bibi’ and ‘Manu’ Macron: the unorthodox new power couple
Paris, France | AFP | It is an image that will long live in French political memory. As incoming president Emmanuel Macron stood in front of his cheering supporters at the Louvre on Sunday night to savour his election victory, his wife Brigitte took his hand and kissed it, tears …
Read More »ANALYSIS: Far right a fixture in France despite Le Pen defeat
Paris, France | AFP | Despite Marine Le Pen’s drubbing in the French presidential election, her far-right National Front party expanded its footprint in the political landscape — and confirmed its move into the mainstream. Her anti-immigrant, anti-Europe stance won a record 34 percent of ballots cast on Sunday, which …
Read More »Thousands hail Macron at Paris victory rally
Paris, France | AFP | Thousands of flag-waving supporters gave Emmanuel Macron a rapturous welcome Sunday as he strode into the courtyard of the Louvre museum to the strains of the European anthem after his decisive election victory. The glass pyramid in the world-famous courtyard glowed golden as 39-year-old Macron …
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