World
Hundreds of thousands expected in Paris for Pope's visit
The highpoint of his time in Paris will be a giant Mass attended by more than half a million people.
BBC World•
Pope Leo XIV embarks on a four-day visit to France on Friday, with the highpoint being a giant Mass attended by more than half a million people in central Paris.
For Saturday's afternoon celebration, an altar has been built on the Place de la Concorde and a large area around the Champs-Élysées sealed off by police.
Some 600,000 Catholic faithful are expected to cram the avenue up to the Arc de Triomphe and beyond.
On Monday the Pope will be in Metz, in northeast France, where he will pay tribute to Robert Schuman (1886-1963), a founding father of the European Union and a fervent Catholic who is today a candidate for beatification.