Paris - Emmanuel Macron has promised to restore France's global standing, as he was officially inaugurated as the country's youngest president at the age of 39. "My mandate will give the French back the confidence to believe in themselves," President Macron said at the elaborate Élysée Palace ceremony. He vowed to see the EU "reformed and relaunched" during his time in office. He takes over from François Hollande, whose five-year term was plagued by high unemployment figures. Mr Macron was proclaimed France's new president a week after his resounding victory over the National Front's Marine le Pen, with 66% of the vote in the run-off poll. The former investment banker, who had never contested an election before and only formed his centrist political movement a year ago, has vowed to shake up the country's political order and reinvigorate its economy.(FA)
