Politics
Fierce and Fearless: Greta Gerwig's 'Barbie' Claims Title of Highest-Grossing Female-Directed Film
added on Monday 24th July 2023
Socialist Francois Hollande sworn in as France's new President
As the first Socialist President since François Mitterrand left office in 1995, François Hollande promised a new approach to tackling the financial woes plaguing Europe as he was sworn in as president of a country worried about Europe's future and pledging to make it a fairer place.
François Hollande became France's new President on Tuesday morning, during the investiture ceremony that took place at the Elysee Palace in Paris. As the first Socialist President since François Mitterrand left office in 1995, François Hollande promised a new approach to tackling the financial woes plaguing Europe as he was sworn in as president of a country worried about Europe's future and pledging to make it a fairer place.
He leaves later on his first diplomatic foray — to Berlin, where he is meeting German Chancellor Angela Merkel to debate austerity and growth in Europe. The eurozone has avoided a new recession, thanks largely to Germany, but new political turmoil in Greece has revived fears about the fate of the shared currency.
Hollande, 57, is only the second Socialist president of modern France, after Francois Mitterrand's 1981-1995 tenure, and rode to the presidency on a wave of resurgent leftist sentiment amid Europe's debt crisis and anti-free-market protests around the world. He secured election victory earlier this month over the incumbent Nicolas Sarkozy, one of the most U.S.-friendly French presidents in decades.
After only one term, voters seemed disappointed over Sarkozy's handling of France's economy — which has high unemployment and low growth — and recoiled at his aggressive personality.
The new president's approach to France's economic challenges is likely to reverberate across Europe as the continent wrestles with an unyielding debt crisis.
Hollande has unsettled investors with his criticism of the austerity policies central to European bailout deals for troubled economies like Greece and Ireland. As the leader of the euro zone's second-largest economy after Germany, his opinion matters. And analysts are waiting to see what kind of relationship he and the German chancellor, Angela Merkel, are able to establish.
Fierce and Fearless: Greta Gerwig's 'Barbie' Claims Title of Highest-Grossing Female-Directed Filmadded on Monday 24th July 2023
