French president's plane hit by lightning on way to Germany

French President François Hollande had to delay a visit to Germany on Tuesday after his plane was struck by lightning on the first day of his presidency, according to numerous reports.

Hollande, a Socialist, defeated incumbent Nicolas Sarkozy in a run-off election 10 days ago. He vowed during the campaign to renegotiate a European austerity deal pushed by Germany last year to address the continent's debt crisis.

Hollande is now on a second plane and is scheduled to arrive in Berlin in about an hour, 7:30 p.m. local time, for his first meeting as president with Chancellor Angela Merkel.

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