Vive la France !

Last Sunday, Red Baron followed the live stream of the inauguration of France's newly elected President, Emmanuel Macron, on Facebook. While watching, I took some screenshots I would like to share with you.

Macron arrived in a relatively small car and was greeted by President François Hollande on the steps of the Élysée Palace, while dignitaries waited inside a hall.

Hollande and Macron disappeared, apparently to attend a session of the French government that is always presided over by the President of the Republic. This time, it was presided over by the old and the new; was this why the meeting took nearly an hour?

In the meantime, the cameras captured some interesting scenes as people waited.

The guard of honor waiting in the courtyard of the Élysée Palace

La Tricolore is always on top.

Dignitaries are waiting inside.

Two well-known faces. In the middle: Lionel Jospin, socialist prime minister in 1997,
failed in 2002 to become Président de la République. On the right: His eternal rival
Laurent Fabius, a socialist, is now the president of the Constitutional Council.

The two attractive daughters of the president's wife and one of the grandchildren are waiting.

Soldiers of the Foreign Legion are waiting.
In the background, men of the Republican Guard wait.

Citizens greeting their new neighbors are waiting too.

The waiting dignitaries are entertained by Mozart's music.

Is he coming?

But he disappears again to say goodbye to François Hollande.

François bids adieu to Emmanuel's wife, Brigitte,
while the new president is watching the scene.

Both men are descending the stairs.

The car Emmanuel arrived in is waiting for François at the end of the red carpet.

Is Hollande hesitating to leave the Élysée, or is he eager to go?

Macron watches the parting president entering the car.

A last waving of the hand

The presidential couple united again, smiling at the crowd.

The president of the Constitutional Council gives Macron a lesson about his duties and rights.

Laurent Fabius impresses the crowd by speaking without a manuscript or teleprompter.

The Grand Chancellor of the Order of the National Legion of Honor
offers Macron the insignia of a Grandmaster

A close-up of the cross of the Legion of Honor

The Grand Chancellor signs the bestowal document first.

The bestowal document of the Legion of Honor

Macron signed the document too.

In his inaugural speech, la France d'abord (France first)
defending the traditional values de la République: liberté, égalité, fraternité ...

... although Europe is important too

The presidential couple leaves the reception.

Brigitte in small talk with some dignitaries ...

... while her husband is leaving the building to inspect the guards.

Macron on the red carpet, face-to-face with ...

... the commanding officer

The new president is on his way to inspect the guard of honor.

Saluting the tricolore

Playing la Marseillaise

President Emmanuel Macron is listening.

On Monday, President Macron was in Berlin. Traditionally, the first foreign trip of a newly elected French president is to Germany, while a freshly elected chancellor visits Paris first. Both leaders agreed to advance the European Union.

Angela and Emmanuel are bosom buddies already (©AFP)

*