Visit of Pope Leo XIV to France: who will attend the giant mass at Place de la Concorde?

This is undoubtedly the climax of Pope Leo XIV's visit to France. Some 600,000 faithful are expected, Saturday September 26, for the giant mass celebrated by the sovereign pontiff, on the second day of his visit to France. At 3 p.m., Place de la Concorde and Avenue des Champs-Elysées should therefore be packed with people, with the faithful or the curious coming from all corners of the country, but also many political leaders.

However, one major absence should be noted. Emmanuel Macron will not attend this mass, nor at any other religious time during the Pope's visit to France, the Elysée announced on September 22. The President of the Republic “will be represented by the Prime Minister and Brigitte Macron” during this giant mass, added the presidency.

A choice that Nicolas Sarkozy, former head of state, would not have made. “It’s a very personal choice, but if I had been President of the Republic, I would have been at this mass,” he said on the CNews set on September 25. He will be present at Concorde, although he did not attend, as president, the religious ceremony celebrated by Pope Benedict XVI in 2008 on the Esplanade des Invalides.

Bruno Retailleau takes the opportunity to celebrate the country's "Christian roots"

Several presidential candidates will also attend the event. Marine Le Pen, candidate of the National Rally, thus confirmed her arrival. The president of the RN group in the Assembly will be accompanied by the president of the far-right party, Jordan Bardella, the party announced to the press. Other personalities of the movement will be there, such as the RN vice-president of the National Assembly, Sébastien Chenu. Marine Le Pen's niece and MEP, Marion Maréchal, will also be among the crowd of faithful to participate in this "moment of contemplation", she announced on X.

The boss of Reconquête, Eric Zemmour, who has yet to formally formalize his candidacy for the presidential election, will be present alongside his partner, MEP Sarah Knafo. “I will have the joy of being among them. May this visit of the Holy Father bring our country the hope and peace it so needs. Mass is not said!”, he announced on X.

The Republican candidate, Bruno Retailleau, will also attend "alone", his entourage tells franceinfo. In a message on X, the president of the right-wing party took advantage of the Pope's arrival to convey a political message. “This visit also reminds us that our civilization has Christian roots. They have shaped our history, our culture, our relationship to the world and to individuals. A nation that does not know where it comes from cannot firmly build its future,” he wrote.

The two candidates from the central block – Gabriel Attal (Renaissance) and Edouard Philippe (Horizons) – will also be present, their respective entourages confirm to franceinfo. They will be placed in the square of former Prime Ministers. Other participant: Michel Barnier, short-lived Prime Minister of Emmanuel Macron. The President of the National Assembly, Yaël Braun-Pivet, will also be present, her entourage confirms to franceinfo.

Olivier Faure refuses to go “fishing for votes”

On the left, few leading figures will make the trip. The first secretary of the PS and candidate in the social democratic primary, Olivier Faure, will not participate. “I would have gladly met the Pope but rather than going fishing for votes, I think it is more important to hear him on AI as well as on Gaza,” the socialist boss slipped on X. Ségolène Royal, another candidate in the PS primary, will not be present either. “She was invited yesterday to UNESCO [where the pope traveled] where she went,” one of her relatives, Luc Carvounas, reported to franceinfo.

Mother of little Léon for a few days, environmentalist candidate Marine Tondelier will not be in Paris. The boss of the Ecologists announced on X that she would "perhaps" be at a climate march near her home, in Hénin-Beaumont (Pas-de-Calais).