Francois Hollande sworn in as French president

PARIS, FRANCE –  Socialist leader Francois Hollande has been sworn in as the 24th president of France after his predecessor Nicolas Sarkozy handed power in a ceremony at Elysee Palace in Paris.

Hollande, who becomes the country’s first left-wing head of state in 17 years , was later due to fly to Berlin to meet German Chancellor Angela Merkel for urgent talks on the future of the eurozone.

Hollande, whose election comes as the bloc is teetering back into crisis with fears about Greece’s future in the single currency, will give his first presidential news conference in Berlin in the evening with Merkel.

He was also set to make the much-anticipated announcement of who will lead his government as prime minister, with Jean-Marc Ayrault, the head of the Socialists’ parliamentary bloc, tipped as frontrunner.

Other contenders include Martine Aubry, the Socialist Party leader and former labour minister, Manuel Valls, Hollande’s communications director during the campaign, and Pierre Moscovici, his campaign and transition chief.