Paris: François Hollande, France’s first socialist president in nearly 20 years, was sworn in at the Elysée Palace on Tuesday in a deliberately low-key ceremony ahead of a meeting in Berlin with the German chancellor, Angela Merkel, at which he will begin his quest to temper Europe’s austerity drive.

One in, one out: France's outgoing President Nicolas Sarkozy welcomes his successor Francois Hollande upon his arrival at the Elysee Palace for the formal handover of power ceremony. Pics/AFP