Visit of Pope Leo XIV to France: Emmanuel Macron welcomes him to the Elysée

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• Direct Pope's visit to France: "It is a great honor for the French Republic to welcome you to our soil", declares Emmanuel Macron while receiving Leo XIV at the Elysée

The sovereign pontiff begins his first visit to France on Friday with a stopover in Paris and Saint-Denis.

What you need to know

White smoke for Leo XIV's trip to French soil. The American pope's plane landed in Paris around 10 a.m. (French time), Friday, September 25, after leaving Rome two hours earlier. The church bells of France rang for seven minutes to celebrate his coming. He was welcomed by Emmanuel Macron, accompanied by his wife Brigitte. The head of state and religious then began a four-day marathon in France by being received at the Elysée at the end of the morning, where he met the presidential couple. Follow our live stream.

• A reduced diplomatic component. If the President of the Republic welcomed the sovereign pontiff upon his arrival at the airport, exchanges between Leo XIV and Emmanuel Macron will be quite limited. The Pope went to the Elysée, but also to meet the diplomatic corps and civil society. No face-to-face lunch between the two men, the Bishop of Rome preferring to take his meals at the apostolic nunciature, the official representation of the Holy See in Paris.

• Crowd bath in sight. Leo The building will be closed from September 24 to 26 to the public due to this exceptional celebration.

• A symbolic vigil at the Stade de France. You had to be between 17 and 35 years old and be responsive when registering to get your seat in Saint-Denis to attend the vigil, from 6:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. The evening will begin with a musical prologue, including performances by Natasha Saint-Pier and Monroe, the French candidate for Eurovision 2026, before the opening of the vigil punctuated by pop-praise pieces. Leo

Emmanuel Macron

president of the Republic

#PAPE "It is a great honor and a great joy for the French Republic to welcome you to our soil."

Emmanuel Macron gives a speech to salute the "hope" aroused by the pope's visit, and quotes Ecclesiastes from the first minute of his speech.

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#POPE That's it, the Pope and the President take their places in the village hall, to the applause of the assembly.

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#PAPE Several political guests are present in the Elysée party room: former president Nicolas Sarkozy, the president of the Senate Gérard Larcher, the president of the Ile-de-France region Valérie Pécresse, the president of the Assembly Yaël Braun-Pivet, or the mayors of Paris and Marseille.

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#PAPE According to France Télévisions journalists at the Elysée, the interview between Emmanuel Macron and Léon XIV has just ended, the two men exchanging gifts. The speeches won't be long.

update on the news

Here is a new update on the news:

• #POPE Pope Leo The church bells of France rang for seven minutes to celebrate his coming. Follow our live stream.

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#POPE And meanwhile, preparations are nearing completion at Place de la Concorde, where Leo XIV will celebrate a mass in front of 600,000 faithful tomorrow.

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#PAPE Note that the firefighters who were mobilized during the fire at Notre-Dame de Paris in 2019 appear in the Elysée community hall, as well as the craftsmen who participated in the reconstruction of the cathedral.

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#PAPE The Elysée party hall is packed while waiting for the speeches of the President of the Republic and the sovereign pontiff, tweets a journalist from Le Parisien.

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#PAPE Church bells across France rang for seven minutes at ten o'clock to greet the arrival of Pope Leo XIV on French soil. Anthology of the most beautiful carillonages.

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#PAPE In the courtyard of the Elysée, many journalists... but also the muscu influencer (his detractors say "mascu" too) TiboInShape.