France against robots was the title of a book by Georges Bernanos, published in 1946, in which he warned of the danger of the “Paradise of Machines” and which Leo XIV cited this Friday in his first speech in France, which he will visit for four days. He summarizes what he expects from this country at this moment, which is to be an ally against dehumanization and the decline of human rights, as he explained in his speech at the Elysee Palace, before Emmanuel Macron, with whom he held a long 55-minute meeting, and the country's authorities. The Pope, who recalled his Norman and Béarnaise roots and read his speech in French, warned of the risks of artificial intelligence and a world where international law and multilateralism are weakened.
In this situation, and that has been the key idea of his speech, he pointed out that the Church and the State, in this case France, must dialogue and work together. Faith and reason, men of good will, believers and non-believers, have to ally and unite in what they have in common: “It is urgent to train minds in ethical discernment capable of distinguishing what is morally good.” This is one of the central messages of the Pope, who resumes ties with secular France after 18 years of absence of a pontiff from Paris. The last to visit the city was Benedict XVI, in 2008, while Francis ignored France, like the rest of the richest countries, and only went to Strasbourg, but to the European institutions; to Marseille, and to the island of Corsica.
The contrast has been clear with his visit to Spain in June, where his first speech at the Royal Palace was a powerful plea against the extreme right: he called to “flee from identity-based approaches that populate the world with ghosts and enemies” and condemned “divisive narratives” and those who “gain popularity by fanning the fire of polarization.” In Paris, on the other hand, it has flown over the hectic national political scene, which in 2027 faces elections that are announced as a clash between the extreme right of Marine Le Pen and the extreme left. Leo XIV has preferred to remain at the level of the great underlying values on which the future can be built.
“For centuries, France has shone as a cultural, artistic and spiritual beacon, not only in Europe, but also in the world,” the Pope admitted, in a lengthy enumeration of historical moments. Among them, the signing in Paris of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948. To add below a reflection on one of the signs of identity of the Republic, the separation of the religious and public spheres, an issue about which there has been a strong debate in recent years in France: “A just secularism does not consist of excluding religion from the public space or education, but rather in working so that the State and religious institutions dialogue with each other and join forces in the service of the true, the good and the beautiful, so that the world has life.”
Macron: “French secularism is not a denial of religion”
The truth is that when the Pope landed at Orly airport at ten in the morning, the bells of all the churches in Paris, where there are 106 parishes, rang for seven minutes. Earlier, in his speech, Macron had already clarified that “French secularism is not at all the denial of religion.”
Leo XIV has insisted that “the Christian who participates in public life and acts according to the light of his conscience illuminated by faith cannot be considered a proselytizer or a threat to the unity of the country.” He has also highlighted the role of the Church in education and the Catholic school, highlighting that "authentic secularism does not exclude the religious dimension, but, on the contrary, knows how to treasure it as an educational resource."
Having established this framework of understanding, the Pontiff did not take long, in any case, to mark his red lines. Starting with respect for human life, in reference to abortion, and underlining its opposition to “genetic manipulations, surrogacy, the purchase of organs or the offer of a programmed death.” They were expected words, because Macron has included the right to abortion in the Constitution and has recently approved a law to regulate euthanasia. “Let us not forget that mutual respect and the protection of the life of every human being constitute the responsibility of each and everyone,” he said.
The Pope has repeated at various times the importance of dialogue, “even more urgent in the context of today's France, where people of different cultural and religious origins are called to live together.” The country, he noted, has distinguished itself for centuries "for its attention to diversity and for a strong desire for solidarity." He also recalled another common point, the cooperation "for centuries" between France and the Catholic Church "at the service of the Christians of the East."
After condemning the war, the escalation of arms and the nuclear danger, the Pontiff continued to invest France with a privileged role on the unstable world stage: "In the face of the roar of wars and the various crises that shake our world, France has the vocation to continue being a tireless architect of peace and multilateralism, especially within our beloved Europe. May France, faithful to its values, open the path of peace unarmed and disarming, and responsibly offers its irreplaceable contribution in favor of peace.”
