PARIS
Nicolas Sarkozy handed over the French presidential office to his successor Francois Hollande on Tuesday.
The formal handover ceremony took place at the Elysee Palace in Paris. After the ceremony, Hollande and his spouse Valerie Trierweiler bade farewell to Sarkozy and his spouse Carla Bruni.
Thus, Francois Hollande officially took office as the seventh president of France.
Addressing the nation after the ceremony, Hollande pledged to develop France, and said his aim was to pave a new way for Europe.
Hollande said France was a big country that could overcome all problems, and gave the message that he would fulfil requirements of his office without making any discrimination.
On May 7, Socialist candidate Francois Hollande won the second round of the French presidential election by gaining 52 percent of the votes.
57-year-old Hollande began his political career as the adviser to Francois Mitterrand, who served as the president of France between 1981 and 1995.
Hollande, who supported the law criminalizing denial of Armenian allegations regarding the incidents of 1915, has given the message that he does no more welcome Turkey's European Union membership saying that negotiations have prolonged for so long.
The French Constitutional Council has rejected the law criminalizing denial of Armenian allegations.
