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  • 800,000 gather for Pope Leo XIV in Paris as France confronts its Catholic roots

    800,000 gather for Pope Leo XIV in Paris as France confronts its Catholic roots

    Pope Leo XIV drew 800,000 attendees to central Paris on Saturday, September 26, for the biggest public event of his four-day visit to France.

    An open-air Mass was held at the Place de la Concorde after the pope travelled through the Champs-Élysées in the popemobile.

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    New France

    Leo was looking out over this enormous crowd in one of Europe’s most secular countries and directing his message specifically toward the young people standing among them: “You are today’s church.” | X (@MarioNawfal)
    Leo was looking out over this enormous crowd in one of Europe’s most secular countries and directing his message specifically toward the young people standing among them: “You are today’s church.” | X (@MarioNawfal)

    The scale of the gathering is significant because France is one of Europe’s most secular societies.

    The separation of church and state is enshrined in the country’s 1905 law, while Catholic affiliation has declined for decades.

    France’s official statistics agency, INSEE, showed that 25% of French people aged 18 to 49 identified as Catholic, down from 43% a decade earlier.

    At the same time, the French Bishops’ Conference has pointed to a rise in adult baptisms, including a reported record 21,000 last Easter.

    Leo, speaking to newly baptised Catholics before the Mass, cautioned the Church against being “naively optimistic” about the increase.

    A little flame

    Europe’s relationship with Christianity is more complicated than the story being told about its disappearance | X (@MarioNawfal)
    Europe’s relationship with Christianity is more complicated than the story being told about its disappearance | X (@MarioNawfal)

    France’s tension between a historic Catholic identity and a more secular present ran through the pope’s visit. At the Mass, Leo told Catholics not to keep their faith to themselves.

    “Only God can fill the emptiness within us,” he said, presenting faith as an answer to what he described as the limits of material life.

    He also called on believers to recognise and protect what he described as a small but growing “flame” of faith in France.

    More than Mass

    Pope Leo XIV pauses to pray at the site of the brutal massacre at the Carmes monastery during the French Revolution, which is marked by the Latin expression "Hic ceciderunt" (Here they fell) | X (@VaticanNews)
    Pope Leo XIV pauses to pray at the site of the brutal massacre at the Carmes monastery during the French Revolution, which is marked by the Latin expression “Hic ceciderunt” (Here they fell) | X (@VaticanNews)

    The visit has also gone beyond religion. Earlier on Saturday, Leo visited Maison Bakhita, a Paris centre that supports migrants and refugees.

    There, he spoke about welcome, dignity and social integration.

    The Vatican said he thanked staff and volunteers for offering “welcome, a listening ear, formation, and friendship”. He also said, “No one is so poor as to have nothing to give; no one is so rich as to have nothing to receive.”

    The visit came ahead of the World Day of Migrants and Refugees on September 27.

    Old wounds

    Pope Leo XIV's Mass on Place de la Concorde | X (@vaticannews_fr)
    Pope Leo XIV’s Mass on Place de la Concorde | X (@vaticannews_fr)

    The trip also carries a difficult institutional backdrop.

    A landmark 2021 inquiry into sexual abuse within the French Catholic Church estimated that about 330,000 children had been abused by clergy and lay members connected to Church institutions over seven decades.

    Leo is due to meet seven French survivors in Lourdes on Sunday.

    The meeting is part of a wider effort to address the damage caused by the scandal, though survivors and advocacy groups continue to call for deeper accountability and systemic reform.

    Faith, dignity and an unfinished reckoning

    Leo’s France tour, his first official papal visit to the country in 18 years, therefore carries several strands at once.

    A message of faith to a secular society, an emphasis on migrants and human dignity, and an attempt to engage with a Church still dealing with the consequences of abuse.

    After Paris, the pope travelled to Lourdes, with the trip scheduled to continue to Metz before his return to the Vatican on Monday.

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  • Tiny French island, big Atlantic message: Macron meets Carney

    Tiny French island, big Atlantic message: Macron meets Carney

    French President Emmanuel Macron and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney met on Sunday in Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon, a small French territory off Canada’s Atlantic coast, and announced plans to deepen cooperation across defence, energy, space, technology and trade.

    The meeting came at a sensitive moment for Canada, as Ottawa seeks stronger economic and strategic links with Europe while its relationship with the United States remains strained.

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    A remote French possession

    The location was significant. Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon sits about 25 km from Newfoundland and is France’s last remaining territory in North America.

    The two countries also share a maritime border there. Macron’s visit was the first by a French president to the territory since 2014, while Carney became the first Canadian prime minister to make an official visit there.

    In the geopolitical thick of it

    The islands sit close to Canada, but they are also French territory. Their location gives the meeting a clear Atlantic and sovereignty dimension.

    That became more relevant after US President Donald Trump recently shared a map depicting Canada, Greenland and other parts of North America under a US flag.

    Diplomats viewed Macron’s visit as carrying symbolic weight following that post. Macron said France did not need to repeatedly reaffirm the islands’ status because of what he described as “strange ideas or strange things”.

    Half the story

    The practical agenda, however, went well beyond symbolism. Carney said Canada and France would ask their space agencies and defence ministries to work together on infrastructure, including space launch systems and ground-based reception facilities.

    The two countries also agreed to expand cooperation in energy, telecommunications, climate resilience and economic development.

    Energy is a major piece of the discussion. Europe is dealing with renewed pressure on energy supplies as the conflict involving Iran disrupts global markets.

    Macron said Canada could play a larger role in supplying liquefied natural gas to Europe. “Canadian liquefied natural gas projects can help. They are important for Europe,” he said.

    Macron also said the talks could lead to more concrete bilateral agreements on energy.

    A keen Canadian suitor

    Macron Hosts Carney on French Islands Off Canada With Sovereignty and Energy on the Table | X (@Global1Newz)
    Macron Hosts Carney on French Islands Off Canada With Sovereignty and Energy on the Table | X (@Global1Newz)

    The bigger shift is economic and strategic. Carney has been pushing for a much closer relationship between Canada and the European Union.

    During his European visit last week, he backed the idea of a new partnership that would go beyond the existing Canada-EU trade framework.

    European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has proposed opening the door for Canada to become the bloc’s first “associate member”.

    The proposed status is not full EU membership, and its terms are yet to be worked out.

    Some paperwork

    Macron has backed that direction. At the Saint-Pierre meeting, he said France and Canada shared commitments to democracy, the rule of law, international law and free and fair trade.

    Carney framed the effort in terms of resilience, arguing that sovereignty now also depends on secure access to areas such as AI, semiconductors, critical minerals, clean energy and space-based communications.

    Canada’s strategy is about creating more options. For France and Europe, it offers a closer relationship with a major G7 economy rich in energy, critical minerals and advanced technology.

    The meeting is only an early step. Any deeper Canada-EU integration will face political and practical hurdles, while existing trade arrangements such as CETA still have unresolved ratification issues in some EU countries.

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