Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Watch Live: Pope Francis meets French President Emmanuel Macron in Marseille after pro-migrant plea

Lucy Leeson
Saturday 23 September 2023 08:55 BST
Comments

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Watch live as Pope Francis and French President Emmanuel Macron attend the closing session of the Mediterranean meetings on Saturday 23 September.

This will be followed by a one-on-one meeting, at the Pharo Palace. Following the meeting, the pontiff will board his Popemobile to travel down Avenue du Prado and meet local residents ahead of a large mass at the Velodrome stadium.

Tens of thousands of people are expected to watch Pope Francis process through the streets and celebrate mass following his pro-migrant plea.

Opening an overnight visit to Marseille, the pontiff presided over a silent moment of prayer at a memorial dedicated to sailors and people who died at sea, surrounded by faith leaders and migrant rescue organisations from the Mediterranean port city.

He said those who risked drowning at sea “must be rescued”, calling it a “duty of humanity, a duty of civilisation”. He said those who impeded the rescue of people at sea were committing a “gesture of hate”.

He said we must not just think of the people dying at sea as numbers, they are “names and faces”, “lives broken”.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in