Francois Hollande on Tuesday was sworn in as President of France, the first Socialist to rule the country in 17 years.
In a brief speech at a 'low key' investiture ceremony at the Elysee Palace in Paris, the new leader pledged to "bring France back to justice, open up a new way in Europe, and contribute to world peace and preserve the planet."
Hollande, 57, said in a televised inauguration speech that he wished to deliver a "message of confidence."
At a time the eurozone is plunging deeper into the debt crisis and the French economy is stagnating, the Socialist leader made it clear that he wanted to discourage "exorbitant" incomes, and called his countrymen to focus on "production ahead of speculation."
The new French President says he is aware of the challenges facing France, which he summarized as "huge debt, weak growth, reduced competitiveness, unemployment, and a Europe that is struggling to emerge from a crisis."
He assured the nation that the new government "will mobilize all our forces and the assets of France."
Hollande, who is set to leave for Berlin later in the day for talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, said he wanted other European leaders to sign a pact that "ties the necessary reduction of deficit to the indispensable stimulation of the economy."
"I will tell them the necessity for our continent is to protect, in an unstable world, not only its values but its interests in the name of commercial exchange," he added.
As leader of the eurozone's second-largest economy after Germany, Hollande's stance is seen as crucial in deciding the fate of the eurozone.
Earlier, outgoing President Nicolas Sarkozy completed the transfer of power to Hollande, who became the seventh President of France's Fifth Republic. Sarkozy, who lost to Hollande in the presidential run-off, handed over France's nuclear launch codes to his successor at a private meeting in the palace.
In the first week of his inauguration itself, Hollande will be engaged in a couple of major international conferences. He will travel to the U.S. to attend the G8 leaders meeting in Camp David and the NATO summit in Chicago. He is also scheduled to meet with his U.S. counterpart Barack Obama during these high profile meetings.
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