Star Metro - Pope to speak on united Europe from French border town

The leader of the world's 1.4 billion Catholics wraps up his four-day trip with a visit to Metz, a northeastern city that repeatedly changed hands between France and Germany in past conflicts.

The city is closely associated with Robert Schuman, considered one of the founding fathers of the European Union, who is buried just outside Metz.

The first US pontiff was expected to speak on the "roots of Europe" and the importance of unity on a continent where nationalist movements are gaining strength and Russia's war against Ukraine, now in its fifth year, shows no sign of abating.

President Emmanuel Macron was also to speak and a handful of European heads of state and government were expected to be in attendance.

Leo's message will come seven months before French voters choose a successor to Macron, with the eurosceptic, anti-immigration far-right seeking power.

The pope sees Europe as a counterweight to the world's major powers and has in the past called on the EU to overcome tensions and rediscover unity in pursuit of peace in Ukraine and beyond.

In Metz, home to around 120,000 people, the pope's visit has sparked excitement, with hotels fully booked and restaurants reporting a surge in reservations.

The visit carries strong symbolic significance, said Philippe Ballot, archbishop of Metz, stressing that the city has been shaped by "three wars, including two world wars".

- 'Enormous preparations' -

The pope will ride his open-top popemobile through Metz and celebrate mass in St. Stephen's Cathedral, a jewel of Gothic architecture.

"The scale of the preparations is enormous," said Anne Padoreck, a local resident.

A thorough security sweep on the eve of his visit included deminers abseiling down the cathedral's facade.

The first official papal visit to France in nearly two decades has stirred enthusiasm and religious fervour among the faithful in the secular nation with deep Catholic roots.

According to the Vatican, more than 1.3 million people turned out to see the pope between Friday and Sunday in Paris and Lourdes.

In the highlight of his visit, Leo travelled on Saturday in his popemobile along the Champs-Elysees and celebrated mass for around 800,000 people, with tightly secured central Paris becoming an open-air place of worship.

Throughout his journey, the pope has appeared smiling and warm, readily engaging with crowds and blessing children and people with disabilities.

"He seems increasingly approachable, which is quite rare for a pope," said Catherine Ernst, a volunteer from Strasbourg.

Beyond meeting the faithful, Leo used his visit to reinforce the key priorities of his pontificate, urging peace and coexistence, and warning against losing humanity in "a paradise of machines" with the advance of AI.

At the Elysee Palace on Friday, he urged France to remain a champion of peace and said during a meeting with migrants on Saturday that it was possible to "live together in dignity and peace."

In the southwestern pilgrimage town of Lourdes on Sunday, the pope met with victims of clerical sex abuse and urged French bishops to battle the "scourge".

He also said that assisted dying was not "normal", after France's parliament legalised the practice this year for certain patients.

D.Fraser--SMC