Get to know the DS7 Citroen Crossback, new French presidential car

France not only received a new president in Emmanuel Macron on Sunday, but a new presidential car as well – the DS7 Citroen Crossback.

Prior to Macron, President Francois Hollande used the DS5 Citroen Hybrid.

During his presidential campaign however, the 39-year old used a Renault.

It was not a decision by the new president on using the DS7, but the PSA group – Citroen’s mother company – that made the switch from a DS5 to a DS7. Had Hollande been re-elected, the group would not have made the upgrade to the new model.

The Crossback, which has been modified to suit the president’s needs such as security and an opening roof, will be exclusively used by the president until the end of the year, when the car will hit the market.

According to French paper Le Monde, the first French president to use a Citroen as a presidential car was Charles De Gaulle in 1959. He used a Citroen Traction.

Mostly used by right-wing French heads of state, the Citroen was taken over by Renault in the 1990s.