The pontiff is making a two-day trip to France’s second-largest city, a historic gateway for immigrants, where he is expected to insist on the causes of migration, from poverty to climate change, and urge greater tolerance.
BOAT ARRIVALS. Migrants wait at the operational center called the “Hotspot” to receive registration papers from the Red Cross on the Italian island of Lampedusa, on Sunday. The European Union presented an emergency plan for Italy to help it handle migrant arrivals after a record number of people landed on its island of Lampedusa over the past week.
He is visiting Marseille first and foremost to take part in a meeting of Mediterranean-area Catholic bishops and young people. More than 2,300 migrants have died so far this year attempting the Mediterranean crossing from North Africa, according to the UN. The pope will start at the Basilica of Notre-Dame de la Garde, a symbolic monument overlooking the city, for a prayer with the clergy on Friday afternoon.
Some also accuse Macron of having postponed the presentation of a bill on end-of-life care, a debate likely to include discussion over extending euthanasia laws — a red flag to the Catholic Church — so as not to interfere with the visit.