From heritage to the Pope, cult sequence for Macro

The Head of State chose to give this year's Heritage Days a spiritual aura, by revealing new measures for the preservation of religious buildings threatened with ruin.

The Elysée had outlined the broad outlines at the beginning of June, evoking the classification or registration as historic monuments of buildings from the XNUMXth and XNUMXth centuries, as well as the possible launch of a financial subscription.

The president will detail this new aid at midday from the collegiate church of Semur-en-Auxois, in Côte-d'Or, a "typical case" of these small towns of less than 10.000 inhabitants targeted to counter "the idea of an abandonment of these territories", according to the presidency.

Expectations are high, while 3.000 to 5.000 buildings are in a state that “raises fears for their preservation” – mainly churches. The conference of bishops also hoped at the start of the week that a “major media figure” would devote himself to raising the denier.

With the hope of a success of the same order as the Heritage Loto, embodied for five years by the host Stéphane Bern, who will make the trip to Burgundy, just like the Minister of Culture Rima Abdul-Malak.

The presidential procession will go, in a second phase, to the Château de Bussy-Rabutin, winner of the first edition of this game of chance in 2018. Secular proof that this Burgundian trip is "in no way linked to the Pope's visit" next week in Marseille, assures the Elysée.

“Secular republic”

The sovereign pontiff, whose arrival in the Phocaean city was announced at the end of March, must conclude the "Mediterranean Meetings", where migration and climate will be discussed in particular, and deliver a speech before celebrating a mass at the Vélodrome stadium.

A “popular” and “festive” event which Mr. Macron will attend, without however participating in the communion, indicated his entourage. But this presence at a papal office, unprecedented since Valéry Giscard d'Estaing in 1980, did not fail to cause controversy.

Even before the official confirmation, the leader of La France insoumise Jean-Luc Mélenchon had denigrated on Wednesday a president who "slaps on without respect for his own function" and warned that "the whistles at mass will be for him, not for the pope", in allusion to the boos received by Mr. Macron during the opening of the Rugby World Cup.

“It is not necessarily (its) place” in a “secular republic”, insisted Thursday the boss of the communists, Fabien Roussel. On the contrary, on the far right, Marion Maréchal Le Pen assured that she was "not shocked at all", while on the right Xavier Bertrand also distanced himself from these "reproaches".

The head of state, who has already met Francis three times since 2017, will have a new one-on-one meeting with the Argentine cleric, whom he speaks on familiar terms. He will then accompany him to the airport before returning to the Vatican. So many opportunities to discuss international issues such as Ukraine and the Sahel.

And perhaps also on the end of life, while the bill promised before the end of the summer was postponed after the visit of the Bishop of Rome.