Visit of Pope Leo XIV to France: notable presence of political figures
Quick Look
Many political figures from the center to the far right attended Pope Leo
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Why It Matters
Pope Leo
To be there... or not. Many political figures from the center to the extreme right attended the mass celebrated by Pope Leo XIV on Saturday, whose visit to France arouses great popular enthusiasm. In one of the stands installed at Place de la Concorde in Paris: Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu, the presidents of the Senate Gérard Larcher and the National Assembly Yaël Braun-Pivet, the president of the Ile-de-France region Valérie Pécresse. Also present, the wife of the head of state Brigitte Macron and former president Nicolas Sarkozy.
The two former Macronist prime ministers, Édouard Philippe (Horizons) and Gabriel Attal (Renaissance), had made the trip, as had the candidate of the National Rally Marine Le Pen and the president of the party Jordan Bardella, accompanied by numerous deputies, and even the boss of LR Bruno Retailleau.
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“It was a wonderful moment of communion with Catholics, but also with all the French people. A message of peace, of hope for this visit of Pope Leo to France,” Jordan Bardella greeted independent journalist Paul Larrouturou as he left. Gabriel Attal spoke of “a very good time”, and large crowds illustrating the need for “concord” and “coming together” of the French.
Left-wing leaders were absent, many having chosen to instead participate in climate marches. Also absent is the head of state, who welcomed the Pope at the airport and then at the Élysée on Friday. In 2023, he attended the mass of the previous sovereign pontiff at the Vélodrome stadium in Marseille, provoking a controversy over respect for secularism.
The Arnault family, the Fillon couple… The personalities meet Pope Leo XIV in Paris
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“Unifying” event
Guest of the France Info channel on Saturday, the vice-president of the RN Sébastien Chenu judged that the head of state “could have” gone to this mass, a “very unifying” event, and which one can attend “without necessarily being Catholic”. “Secularism is not the ban on attending worship,” he insisted, furthermore ruling out any desire for “recovery” from elected RN officials.
Asked about the Pope's assertion that "just secularism does not consist of excluding religion from public space", Mr. Chenu objected to her being able to address his camp, in favor of banning the wearing of the Islamic veil in the street. “We are fighting Islamism, we are not fighting a religion,” he said.
Also read In Lourdes, Leo XIV prays for France and its leaders
On “Message directly addressed to all the candidates who rushed to take the photo with the Pope to better contradict him with their programs,” tackled Olivier Faure.
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Not hiding her Catholic practice, the head of the Ecologists Marine Tondelier, who gave birth eight days ago, preferred to participate in the Climate March in Arras. Jean-Luc Mélenchon, LFI presidential candidate, was present at the Paris election, while François Ruffin (Debout!) paraded in Amiens and François Roussel (PCF) in Valenciennes.
Friday evening, the Insoumis Bally Bagayoko, as mayor of Saint-Denis, welcomed the Pope, who came to conclude a prayer vigil at the Stade de France. “An extremely moving moment,” he commented on
What to Watch
AI outlook — possibilities, not facts
The debate on secularism in France will be relaunched in the coming weeks, with new legislative proposals or public positions taken by the parties.
Likely · Within weeks
Open Questions
- What will be the impact of this visit on future debates concerning secularism in France?
- How will the left-wing parties respond to the political use of the Pope's visit by their adversaries?
- Will there be other religious events involving political figures in the near future?
