On Tuesday, before his flight to Berlin to plead his case for less austerity in Europe, Francois Hollande was greeted by a thunderstorm in Paris as storm clouds gathered over the euro zone while the new French president was being sworn in, Reuters reported. Hollande's first day in power was marred by a downpour as he drove through Paris in open-top car to mark his investiture. A stroke of lightning en route to Germany later forced the presidential jet to make a U-turn and switch to a smaller Falcon jet.