Pro-LGBT Emmanuel Macron officially becomes the president of France
Emmanuel Macron has been inaugurated as the president of France.
The 39-year-old formally took the post in a ceremony at the Élysée Palace, alongside his wife, the new First Lady, Brigitte Trogneux.
In his inauguration speech he called for France to re-find its “self-confidence”.
He said: “This is why my mandate will be guided by two imperatives: the first will be to give the French their self-confidence back.”
He added that “the power of France is not declining – that we are on the brink of a great renaissance”.
He is set to appoint his prime minister today, with Édouard Philippe, the mayor of Le Havre, favourite for the role.
Mr Philippe is not a member of En Marche, the party of President Macron, but of the opposition Republican party.
Macron won the French election taking 66.1 percent of the vote, compared to the 33.9 percent won by Le Pen.
The new president, who is the youngest president to ever be elected in France, has pledged to end everyday homophobia as well as work place anti-LGBT discrimination.
He has also promised to defend equal marriage, a legislation that Macron has deemed “an enrichment of what the family is in France that shows its importance to all of us”.
Emmanuel Macron was elected the next president of France following the race between him and far-right Le Pen.
He ended up with just shy of two-thirds of all the votes, higher than the 60% hoped for.
Macron is a staunch supporter of LGBT rights and equality, having dedicated an entire section of his manifesto to addressing issues that the LGBT community faces.
The newly elected president, who is the youngest president to ever be elected in France, has pledged to end everyday homophobia as well as workplace anti-LGBT discrimination.
He has also promised to defend equal marriage, a legislation that Macron has deemed “an enrichment of what the family is in France that shows its importance to all of us”.
His anti-LGBT opponent, Le Pen, had promised to abolish the law that created marriage equality in the country, burying the policy in a manifesto of 144 pledges.
In an interview with the Russian controlled news outlet Sputnik, National Assembly member Nicolas Dhuicq claimed that “there is very wealthy gay lobby” behind Macron with a number of “open homosexuals” close to him.
The former economy minister, who tied the knot with wife Brigitte Trogneux in 2007, laughed off the claims.
He said: “I hear people saying that I have a secret life or something. It’s not nice for Brigitte… she is asking herself how I could physically do that.
“She shares my life from morning to night.”
