Never even contested an election before this year. It really has been an astonishing year in french politics. Emmanuel macron, the young, fresh phrased, road business, ardent european. About to be inaugurated pro business. He trounced his rivals in the elections, a resounding vote in support of a man who only set up his en marche party about a year ago. We are already hearing, by the way, just you know, just to let you know, that we will expect him to appoint his Prime Minister to morrow. We have heard that in the last few minutes. The Prime Minister will be appointed tomorrow and the government will be formed on tuesday. That is what sources close to Emmanuel Macron are telling us. That is the scene there in Central Paris, as we await the formalities of the inauguration and, of course, the french do these things with wonderful and grandeur and lets go to my colleague who was there watching it all unfold. A rather drizzly morning there in paris, we can tell from your umbrella 7 drizzly morning there in paris, we can tell from your umbrella . Yes, the pomp and grandeur is currently being rained on rather heavily. It is the start of the last few minutes. It has been Security Lockdown here. There are hundreds of police, journalists, all along this avenue. The Satellite Trucks from all over the world, and you can see just behind me, just behind of the main gate in front of the main gate of the palace, a crowd is gathering. We have seen his wifes arising out of the car. The red carpet is rolled out in the courtyard. The journalist and dignitaries are there and they wait for the ceremony now. First, Emmanuel Macron will have a private meeting with the outgoing president , Francois Hollande. That meeting has no cameras, it is the transfer of power. The formal handover during which Emmanuel Macron will be given the nuclear code. That is all part of the transition of power. Then they will emerge, the former, outgoing president , Francois Hollande, will leave the building. He will leave the Elysee Palace for the last time. After that, there will be the formal inauguration of Emmanuel Macron. He will become president of france. It is extremely formal, a familiar sight for the french over the generations, what hasnt been conventional of course, is the arrival to this position of Emmanuel Macron, after just 13 months in charge of his en marche political movement. Last april was when he quit hisjob and decided to stand down as an unelected Economy Minister in the government of Francois Hollande, the outgoing president , to form this En Marche Centrist Movement taking policies from left and right and it was very 0011 from left and right and it was very soon after that but he declared his ambition soon after that he declared his ambition to run. Many say it wasnt skill but also like that got him. It was really the most opportune to political moment with the downfall, financial mismanagement scandal, and the Socialist Party, the dominant force, choosing a candidate for President Election which was from the far left and did not attract mainstream support. Lets talk about this some more with a commentator and journalist here in paris. How france come to terms with how sudden this arrival to power is . |j think sudden this arrival to power is . think it took an awful lot of people by surprise. Somebody who came from absolute obscurity and managed to rise to power and ethically secure one of the most powerful executive positions on earth and Emmanuel Macron one in the most convincing circumstances possible as well. macron one in the most convincing circumstances possible as well. I am wondering if this may indeed be the arrival of Emmanuel Macron himself. Given the amount of police motorcyclists. There we are. This is the moment Emmanuel Macron arrives at the Elysee Palace. A big cheer from the crowd there. His wife is already inside, she has made the journey along the red carpet but macron supporters waving the french flag as he arrives for this enormous day. Before he has even reached the age of a0. Yes, indeed. You have talked us through. It is actually, Francois Hollande is waiting. The two will have the meeting. You have doctors through the handover of power, then will follow the official inauguration that will happen at the ballroom of the Elysee Palace, but on the previous republic, it has happened at versailles effectively and Emmanuel Macron will be accompanied by senior officials, including the Prime Minister, and the president s of both chambers of parliament, the lower house and indeed the senate. And interestingly a solemn march will be played, Emmanuel Macron is a proper music but then he will put some thought into a choice of his musical piece. The ceremony, the actual ceremony will take place then. Emmanuel macron has got out of the carand is making his Emmanuel Macron has got out of the car and is making his way along the red carpet into the Elysee Palace. For the handover of power. Walking towards the outgoing president , Francois Hollande. Seen as the protege of a Manual Macron, giving him his break in politics, putting him first as an adviser and then as a Economy Minister, unelected Economy Minister in the socialist government. So very symbolic day, this relationship between the two men, complicated one, resulting in this literal handover of power from one one, resulting in this literal handover of powerfrom one man to the other. Well, there you see the grandeur inside the Elysee Palace as the two men walk up the stairs, the outgoing president Francois Hollande and the incoming president Emmanuel Macron. And we will would just hearing their the formal handover of power, which includes mr macron being given the French Nuclear codes there. We were seeing Francois Hollande, who, in some ways has been seen by Many Political commentators in france as a political failure, seen by Many Political commentators in france as a politicalfailure, he did not run in this election but macron was his Economy Minister between the years 201a and 2016, in some ways mr hulls protege and now Francois Hollande is handing power literally inside the Elysee Palace. Mr hollandes protege. As the band and the music begins. And our correspondent Hugh Schofield joins us from paris. It really is an extraordinary political moment, this, isnt it, for france . This young man, he was not emerged from nowhere, he had been Economy Minister, setting up his own party only a year ago and 110w his own party only a year ago and now president. Yes, and what it makes me reflect on how brilliantly the french Education System can be when it sort of six to pick out brilliant individuals and promote them through the ranks because he is, ina them through the ranks because he is, in a way, the classic product of an egalitarian Education System. The problem is it only works in some cases, it does work absolutely superbly. He came from a middle class background in the providence but his audience was spotted by people at school, in fa ct, spotted by people at school, in fact, at a religious school, private school. He then got selected and pushed through the regular elite educational, other Educational System tojoin the educational, other Educational System to join the ranks of the administrative elite of the country and from there, as we know, with his eye on power and his eye on his own destiny, because i think hes a man who really does believe in his own destiny, he did what he has done. And it is a remarkable achievement which one has two hand to him. I think the other interesting thing today about today which you have all alluded to is this relationship with Francois Hollande and we have seen in the last week, a slight tension between the two men because on the one hand, Francois Hollande is quite clearly very eager to sort of up the signal that his presidency was not a disaster because look, someone from my presidency is continuing and is carrying on, has taken on the mantle. What i set out to do goes on, kind of thing. But of course Emmanuel Macron find that legacy slightly irksome. Much though i think he likes Francois Hollande and certainly owes a lot, he does want to keep his distance from Francois Hollande, in particular in the light of the upcoming parliamentary elections, he does not want to be seen elections, he does not want to be seen to be the anointed successor. Particularly we saw it last week about ceremony at Arc De Triomphe after the election, Francois Hollande bearing on the clock on the back, my spiritual son as it were, Emmanuel Macron saying thank you, yes, i would rather be my own man now. But, of course, from today it is the power skimpily, Manual Macron is the power skimpily, Manual Macron is the power skimpily, Manual Macron is the president. Francois hollande will be the man who is forgotten. It in us marconi s name as a result of what has been regarded as a failed presidency. The sermon today which is lavishly beautiful to watch, the ha rd is lavishly beautiful to watch, the hard work begins straight afterwards. He has to form a government very quickly, appointed prinosil, which might be as soon as tomorrow, we are hearing, he has go tomorrow, we are hearing, he has go to be meeting Angela Merkel very seen to be meeting Angela Merkel very seen to talk about europe. We have this error may now, ceremony. A meeting behind closed doors, Security Operations will be discussed, things that we do not know about, that the president needs to handle to the other, the codes for the nuclear. And then will be the speech, the ceremony of anointing him as grand master of the order of the legion of honour, that goes with all president s, deep recession on Champs Elysee and then we will get down to business. The name of the Prime Minister either today or tomorrow. Will this be a character of the political right . That is what is the big question because in drawing up of his list of candidates for the parliamentary elections, quite clearly there is a bias in that list towards the left and as macron was, bias in that list towards the left and 3s macron was, someone bias in that list towards the left and as macron was, someone who is above that old divide, it is quite important to him to redress that and i think his inclination is to appoint someone who is from the centre right. Maybe do some from the opposition, someone who is on the centuries wing of that party, republicans, he might be macron compatible. That would be his ideal, various names circulating. The former mayor of strasberg, these are the kind of people, a centrist mep, these are the names that are circulating at the moment. It will be very important because it was then that the signal as to how he conceives of his party and how, what hopes the house for turning that into a majority in parliament. Then of course this is this visit tomorrow to germany. He had said before that his first trip abroad would be to visit serving military men and women abroad, but it seems that has been put off and the trip to germany will come first which will be tomorrow. That is vital, of course. Hollande went to see merkel on the day of his inauguration and on the day of his inauguration and on that plane, by the way, was a young Emmanuel Macron he was his adviser. The Plane Got Hit by lightning coincidently. Another sign of the start of the hollande presidency. It is macron who will go tomorrow. The relationship with merkel is good to be fascinating to watch because we have arriving now somebody who is incredibly pro european, who really wants to get back the franco germany relationship, the golden years, to try and rebuild that element of trust. His deal, his budding rugby i will bring france down the road of reform, economic reform, if you, germany, bring germany down the road of, for example, making the desert of, for example, making the desert of all European Countries neutralise and so on, that way of Building Europe from the top down. That is the bargain he is going to want to bring to Angela Merkel tomorrow. It isa bring to Angela Merkel tomorrow. It is a very important meeting. Whew, just the with us because we are seeing these magnificent pictures from Central Paris from the Elysee Palace. The two men, as you are saying, outgoing president hollande and incoming president Emmanuel Macron, exchanging the Nuclear Missile launch codes, amongst other Security Procedures that i have been going through at the moment. Then we gather president hollande will leave the palace and the result of the election is read out inside the elysee, a moment that marks the actual assumption of power and Emmanuel Macron is then presented with what is effectively his chain of office, that heavy golden necklace, mounted on a red cushion. We have been seen pictures of it actually. That makes him the grand master of the National Order of the legion, apparently he will not put it on. He is presented with it. I wonder if i can ask you this, is france, the election of a Manual Macron, this very young dynamic politician, is it feeling good about itself because i suppose there has been a sense in some ways of france stagnating economically with a lot of problems and divisions, now he has been elected with this huge chunk of the boat, and it feeling better about itself. Huge chunk of the vote. Goodness knows there have been moments of false hope in the past. I think part of the rise of populism issued to the sense that with every election everyone gets whipped up into a sense of a new dawn and things being resolved and they never are. And thatjust create cynicism about the establishment politics and once again we do have something of that feeling of optimism hitting the country. This time body by someone who is more genuinely new and young and has been transgressive in a way by taking an the sacred cows of the old parties by saying hes going to do stuff and a p pa re ntly by saying hes going to do stuff and apparently not minding if it is unpopular. I think weve all been struck by how open he is unwilling to insist on the challenges that emissaries. He is willing to insist on the changes that are necessary. He says life is going to be tough, there are tough decisions ahead. I think that plain speaking is quite refreshing and gives people a feeling that maybe this time weve got someone who is prepared to undertake the necessary reforms. I dont think anyone is foolish enough to think that this is somehow going to think that this is somehow going to change things radically. We know there are tough times ahead. We know there are tough times ahead. We know there are tough times ahead. We know there are other of elections coming up, the third round of the president ial elections, because he has got to win a majority that. The fourth round, potentially, on the street. Everyone is expecting a fee does go ahead with his reform plans for pedigree changing the labour laws, he said he would do by degree, not by a vote on parliament in the law, by decree, that will certainly create some sort of backlash in the austin. There is an optimism which is quite significant now, the french have been so long tarnished, politically and what they call the Anglo Saxon Media has been the kind of dead ducks of the weste