Pope Leo XIV begins four-day France visit with warnings on AI and multilateral diplomacy

Arrival in Paris and bilateral talks

Pope Leo XIV landed at Paris-Orly Airport shortly before 10:00 on Friday, 25 September 2026, beginning a four-day visit to France. The journey marks his first trip to the country since his election as head of the Catholic Church in May 2025. French President Emmanuel Macron and Brigitte Macron greeted the American pontiff on the tarmac, where children gathered to sing and request autographs. During his flight from Rome, Pope Leo defended press freedom following restrictions imposed on news outlets in Washington, calling rigorous journalistic coverage essential across society. He also answered questions regarding the migration situation in the Spanish enclave of Ceuta, describing it as a humanitarian emergency requiring structural solutions. Following his arrival, Pope Leo held a one-hour bilateral meeting with Macron at the Élysée Palace, where the French president noted the pontiff's family roots in Normandy, where his grandmother was born.

Discussions on technology and peace

In their formal addresses at the Élysée Palace, both leaders focused on international security and technological governance. Pope Leo cautioned against losing humanity within what he described as a paradise of machines, urging the international community to halt escalating arms races. Macron proposed establishing an international regulatory institution to prevent artificial intelligence from falling into harmful hands, arguing that digital systems must serve human agency rather than constrain it. The French president also condemned recent rises in anti-religious violence across the country, pledging state protection for all places of worship. In addition, Macron referenced the secular framework established in France 120 years ago, explaining that the separation of church and state protects freedom of belief rather than excluding faith from civic life.

Without a common ethical foundation, the proliferation of communication channels risks spreading false information and giving space to words empty of meaning, thus hindering dialogue.

Multilateral critique at UNESCO headquarters

Pope Leo subsequently traveled to UNESCO headquarters in Paris to deliver an address before delegates representing 194 member states. The pontiff warned that the United Nations and other multilateral organisations face an operational crisis, stating that international deliberation risks deteriorating when powerful nations disregard legal norms. He criticized political leaders who invoke the rule of law selectively while ignoring binding constraints when inconvenient. His remarks reiterated themes from his May encyclical Magnica humanitas, arguing that artificial intelligence systems require ethical boundaries to safeguard the cognitive freedom and critical judgment of young people. Delegates accorded the pontiff a standing ovation following his speech.

Instead of respecting the law, those in power invoke it when it serves their interests and ignore it when it restricts them, treating justice itself as if it were a commodity bought and sold.

Notre-Dame Cathedral and itinerary

On Friday evening, Pope Leo visited Notre-Dame Cathedral, becoming the first pontiff to enter the building since its 2024 reopening following the 2019 fire, after Pope Francis had declined an invitation to the reopening ceremony. Paris Archbishop Laurent Ulrich received the Pope at the entrance, while thousands of worshippers gathered outside, with two-thirds watching the service on exterior giant screens due to indoor capacity limits. Pope Leo inspected the chapel housing the Crown of Thorns and conducted vespers before assembled clergy and seminarians. He later met Paris Mayor Emmanuel Grégoire, who presented architectural plans for the redesigned cathedral forecourt. The pontiff concluded Friday's schedule with a prayer gathering at the Stade de France for 80,000 people aged 17 to 35, ahead of weekend visits to the Marian sanctuary in Lourdes and the northeastern city of Metz.