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The four-day visit marks the first official state trip to France by a pope since Benedict XVI came in 2008 according to French media outlets covering the preparations. President Emmanuel Macron greeted the pontiff at Orly airport before the two held talks at the Élysée Palace on geopolitical matters and artificial intelligence a schedule released by the presidential office showed. Paris Archbishop Laurent Ulrich told AFP the chosen venues were intended to highlight symbolic locations that reflect the entire country’s joy at welcoming the visitor. A popemobile procession through central Paris to Notre-Dame Cathedral is also planned for Friday afternoon potentially drawing 150000 spectators along the route the archbishop’s office stated.
Nearly 600000 people registered for the open-air mass prompting organisers to expand the designated area to include the Place de l’Étoile and Avenue de la Grande Armée the Diocese of Paris reported. The event is scheduled for Saturday afternoon with an altar erected on the Place de la Concorde and sections of the Champs-Élysées closed to traffic according to the archdiocese. Organisers revised their expectations upward after the Pope’s recent trip to Spain drew 1.2 million young people to a vigil Le Parisien reported. A gathering with up to 80000 young people at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis is set for Friday evening following the procession.
French authorities have deployed 14000 police gendarmes and soldiers alongside 2500 firefighters for the first day in the capital the interior ministry reported. The number decreases to 12000 security personnel on Saturday with 7000 assigned in Lourdes and 5000 in Metz for the later stages of the trip according to the same figures. No specific targeted threat against the Pope or the events has been identified the ministry added while stressing constant vigilance from intelligence services. The Paris police prefecture detailed that 26 metro and RER stations will close temporarily with bag searches and pat-downs required at 23 control points around key sites.
The events are forecast to attract more than one million visitors in total and lift hotel occupancy rates significantly across multiple cities Le Monde reported. Following the economic effects of Céline Dion’s recent concerts that drew 800000 spectators and generated between 500 million and one billion euros the papal visit is viewed as a comparable tourism driver by the regional development agency Choose Paris Region. That agency described the gatherings as among the largest public assemblies in the Paris area since the 2024 Olympic Games. Public transport services will increase by about 10 percent to handle the crowds the Ile-de-France regional authority announced.
The French bishops’ conference placed the overall cost of organising the four-day trip at 27 million euros and has raised 5.5 million euros so far through a national appeal EWTN News reported. Cardinal Jean-Marc Aveline president of the bishops’ conference attributed the unexpectedly high turnout to a resistance to secularisation and a fresh momentum among new converts and those preparing for baptism. A total of 12000 volunteers have been enlisted in the Paris region alone to assist with logistics and crowd management the organising committee said. Anti-drone systems and snipers positioned at elevated points form part of the layered security measures the prefecture outlined.
Following the Paris leg Pope Leo XIV will celebrate mass for an anticipated 150000 pilgrims in Lourdes on September 27 before proceeding to Metz for a final mass at the cathedral on September 28 the published itinerary indicated. The pontiff declined an invitation to meet artisans who worked on Notre-Dame’s reconstruction because his agenda left no room for the encounter the Élysée Palace confirmed. Church leaders have described the level of public interest as evidence of a deepening spiritual thirst across France and broader Europe. Navigation on the Seine will be suspended during the Notre-Dame sequence while commercial establishments near the Élysée Palace must close for several hours on Friday according to a prefectural order.
