“France has doubted itself for decades. It feels that its culture, social model and deepest beliefs are under threat.”
As Emmanuel Macron took on the mantle of France’s head of state on Sunday, he was at pains to stress the the scale of the task ahead. His speech to France’s political elite, assembled at the Elysée Palace, namechecked every former holder of the office going back to the founding of the 5th Republic by Charles de Gaulle, in each case pointing out the historic challenges each of his predecessors had faced. 
For his own mandate, he set himself the goal of restoring France’s “confidence in itself” and, in doing so, reinforcing his country’s voice in Europe and in the world. As in the election campaign, he set out a vision of a France that “is not in decline”, but that needs to throw off the shackles of political inertia and anachronistic regulations. His first full day in office will see him confront two of the biggest questions hanging over the start of his five-year term: Firstly, how to form a government that can succeed where so many others have stumbled by driving through economic reform; secondly, how to strike up a partnership with Germany that will bring new energy to the EU. On the first point, Mr Macron is set today to announce his prime minister. Choosing a head of government is always a loaded decision for a French president, but particularly so in Mr Macron’s case, given his independence from France’s established centre-right and centre-left parties. With his decision, he has a chance to extend a large olive branch (should he want to) to potential defectors. Le Journal du Dimanche has a profile of the person who is widely tipped to get the job: Édouard Philippe, an MP and mayor of Le Havre who is also a close ally of Alain Juppé, the former centre-right prime minister. Other names very much in the frame include Nathalie Kosciuscko-Morizet, a former centre-right ecology minister, and Sylvie Goulard, a high profile liberal MEP. Mr Macron’s first full day in office then continues with his first official trip as president – to see Angela