Several hundred thousand people gather for Pope Leo’s mass in Paris

Several hundred thousand people have gathered in the French capital to attend Pope Leo XIV’s outdoor mass.

The Vatican estimated that 700,000 people came out in Paris on Saturday, more than the 600,000 who had registered in advance.

The American pope greeted flag-waving, cheering throngs from his popemobile as he rode along France’s 1.9 kilometres (1.2 miles) famous avenue, the Champs-Elysees.

Upon arriving at Place de la Concorde, Paris’s largest public square, Leo held an outdoor mass and led hundreds of thousands of people in prayer.

The pontiff began his four-day tour of France on Friday, marking the first official papal visit to the country in 18 years.

The pope is seeking to improve the Roman Catholic Church’s standing in France, five years after an inquiry found that 330,000 children were abused by its clergy and lay members over the span of seven decades. The religious leader has also been challenging France’s recently approved law allowing assisted dying.

French President Emmanuel Macron was not present for the mass and was represented by his wife, Brigitte. Far-right presidential hopeful Marine Le Pen was also among the attendees. Le Pen currently leads the polls in advance of next year’s election, which is due to take place in mid-April.

The pope is next due to travel to the southwestern town of Lourdes, where he will meet seven French victims abused by members of the clergy on Sunday.

On Friday, an estimated 300,000 people turned out to see the pontiff as he waved from the popemobile on the way to the Notre Dame Cathedral.

“There is a sense of fervour reminiscent of that experienced over 40 years ago with John Paul II,” Francois Mabille, director of the Geopolitical Observatory on Religion, told broadcaster RMC.

The pontiff met Macron on Friday and gave a rare speech at his official residence, the Elysee Palace.

He praised French society, describing it as the result of “a people whose diverse origins have enlivened and enriched the nation and its democracy”.

He also spoke out against AI, warning that “a paradise of machines” could cause people to lose their humanity.

The Catholic Church has gradually seen its influence in secular France dwindle in recent decades.