PARIS // Francois Hollande will be sworn in as leader of the proud French nation tomorrow, only to face an immediate reminder of the extent to which its power is constrained by ties to a debt-wracked Europe.
The Elysee Palace ceremony and associated pomp - an open-topped ride in a classic Citroen DS up the Champs Elysees to the arch that celebrates France's former triumphs - will be followed within hours by a flight to Berlin.
There, in a cautious first encounter, France's new Socialist leader will try to find common ground with Germany's conservative leader, Angela Merkel, despite their widely differing views on how to deal with eurozone deficits.
France is the world's fifth great power, Europe's second-biggest economy and a nuclear-armed permanent member of the UN security council. Its president wields enormous authority as de facto head of state and government.
But, as Mr Hollande's right-wing predecessor Nicolas Sarkozy found to his frustration, since its entry into the euro, Paris has had to remain in lockstep with its EU allies - in particular economic powerhouse Germany.
Mr Hollande won over 51.6 per cent of voters who expressed a preference on May 6. However, the seventh president of the Fifth Republic's promise to restart growth will depend largely on his ability to work with allies abroad.
First, however, the 57-year-old career politician wants to begin with a sombre celebration of his campaign themes - a return to "normality" after Mr Sarkozy's frenetic rule, the plight of youth and the cause of social justice.
"His deepest wish is to be a normal president," his ex-partner Segolene Royal, the mother of his four children and the defeated 2007 Socialist candidate, said yesterday.
The swearing-in ceremony in the elegant Elysee Palace will be a relatively simple affair, with no other heads of state invited and neither his children nor those of his partner Valerie Trierweiler present.
Then it will be down to business - a crash course in high-wire economic diplomacy for a man who has never served in government and is more used to back-room Socialist Party infighting.
The first order of business will be to nominate a prime minister. This will probably be the safe choice of the Socialists's leader in parliament Jean-Marc Ayrault, although other names are circulating.
Whoever gets the job will be faced with simultaneously building a cabinet of ministers and starting the party's campaign to win June's legislative election, while Mr Hollande heads for Berlin.
He has ordered an audit of the government's finances but EU forecasts suggest he will struggle to meet his goal of cutting the deficit to three per cent of GDP by 2013 and balance the books by 2017.
In France, his allies insist the shortfall is the fault of hidden weaknesses in Mr Sarkozy's record but it weakens Hollande as he implores the chancellor to ease the EU's austere fiscal straitjacket.
Mr Hollande wants to renegotiate the fiscal pact agreed by his predecessor to give EU members more leeway to invest for growth. However, Berlin insists recovery will be secure only when deficits are brought under control.
The incoming government is confident a compromise can be reached but some here point to the political mayhem in Greece - where voters brought down a government over austerity - and to the problems in Spain and Italy.
"We didn't vote for an EU president called Mrs Merkel who makes sovereign decisions for the rest of us," Socialist spokesman Benoît Hamon said yesterday. "Austerity led Greece into failure."
After Ms Merkel, Hollande might hope for a warmer welcome from US President Barack Obama on Friday at the White House - except that he will have to explain to his new US friend why he wants French troops to make a rapid withdrawal from Afghanistan.
MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Bio
Born in Dubai in 1994
Her father is a retired Emirati police officer and her mother is originally from Kuwait
She Graduated from the American University of Sharjah in 2015 and is currently working on her Masters in Communication from the University of Sharjah.
Her favourite film is Pacific Rim, directed by Guillermo del Toro
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Quick facts on cancer
- Cancer is the second-leading cause of death worldwide, after cardiovascular diseases
- About one in five men and one in six women will develop cancer in their lifetime
- By 2040, global cancer cases are on track to reach 30 million
- 70 per cent of cancer deaths occur in low and middle-income countries
- This rate is expected to increase to 75 per cent by 2030
- At least one third of common cancers are preventable
- Genetic mutations play a role in 5 per cent to 10 per cent of cancers
- Up to 3.7 million lives could be saved annually by implementing the right health
strategies
- The total annual economic cost of cancer is $1.16 trillion
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About Karol Nawrocki
• Supports military aid for Ukraine, unlike other eurosceptic leaders, but he will oppose its membership in western alliances.
• A nationalist, his campaign slogan was Poland First. "Let's help others, but let's take care of our own citizens first," he said on social media in April.
• Cultivates tough-guy image, posting videos of himself at shooting ranges and in boxing rings.
• Met Donald Trump at the White House and received his backing.
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
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The alternatives
• Founded in 2014, Telr is a payment aggregator and gateway with an office in Silicon Oasis. It’s e-commerce entry plan costs Dh349 monthly (plus VAT). QR codes direct customers to an online payment page and merchants can generate payments through messaging apps.
• Business Bay’s Pallapay claims 40,000-plus active merchants who can invoice customers and receive payment by card. Fees range from 1.99 per cent plus Dh1 per transaction depending on payment method and location, such as online or via UAE mobile.
• Tap started in May 2013 in Kuwait, allowing Middle East businesses to bill, accept, receive and make payments online “easier, faster and smoother” via goSell and goCollect. It supports more than 10,000 merchants. Monthly fees range from US$65-100, plus card charges of 2.75-3.75 per cent and Dh1.2 per sale.
• 2checkout’s “all-in-one payment gateway and merchant account” accepts payments in 200-plus markets for 2.4-3.9 per cent, plus a Dh1.2-Dh1.8 currency conversion charge. The US provider processes online shop and mobile transactions and has 17,000-plus active digital commerce users.
• PayPal is probably the best-known online goods payment method - usually used for eBay purchases - but can be used to receive funds, providing everyone’s signed up. Costs from 2.9 per cent plus Dh1.2 per transaction.
The specs
Engine: 2.3-litre, turbo four-cylinder
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Power: 300hp
Torque: 420Nm
Price: Dh189,900
On sale: now
Company Profile
Name: Thndr
Started: 2019
Co-founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Sector: FinTech
Headquarters: Egypt
UAE base: Hub71, Abu Dhabi
Current number of staff: More than 150
Funds raised: $22 million
Reputation
Taylor Swift
(Big Machine Records)
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The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre turbo
Power: 181hp
Torque: 230Nm
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Starting price: Dh79,000
On sale: Now
Our legal consultants
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
WOMAN AND CHILD
Director: Saeed Roustaee
Starring: Parinaz Izadyar, Payman Maadi
Rating: 4/5
