Macron honors WWII victims in first official outing as president-elect

PARIS. KAZINFORM France's president-elect carried out his first official public act on Monday, joining the outgoing head of state to pay tribute to the victims of World War II and mark the 72nd anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany, EFE reports.

Emmanuel Macron was cordially welcomed by Francois Hollande for the Victory Day ceremony at the Arc de Triomphe monument in Paris, just days ahead of the power swap that will see France appoint its youngest president since Napoleon following a decisive victory in Sunday's vote.

During the solemn ceremony, Macron and Hollande stood in silence as the national anthem _ La Marseillaise _ and the unofficial anthem of the French Resistance _ the Partisan's Song _ were played to commemorate the anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany in 1945.

As is tradition, the pair laid a wreath of flowers at the tomb of the unknown soldier, commemorating the millions who perished during both World War I (1914-18) and World War II (1939-45).

Macron, who is set to officially take the reins of the presidency on May 14, listened to the Partisan's Song with his eyes closed.
Hollande and Macron took the time to individually greet a group of veterans who had gathered for the ceremony.

Macron, an independent centrist, won Sunday's presidential election, taking 66.1 percent of the overall vote against his far-right rival Marine Le Pen, who took 33.9 percent.

Macron, an ex-banker, served Socialist Party (PS) leader Hollande as economy minister between 2014-16 before branching off to create his own centrist movement En Marche! ("On the move!").

Sunday's second and final round of voting was marked by a high rate of abstention at 25.44 percent and some 11.47 percent of voters turned out to cast a spoiled or blank ballot.