// BBC WORLD NEWS — MONDO
Huge crowds greet Pope in Paris for open-air Mass
Watch: Huge crowds greeted the Pope as he travelled down the Champs-Élysées
Hundreds of thousands of people have greeted Pope Leo XIV in the centre of Paris for a giant open-air Mass.
Crowds cheered as the pontiff moved down the Champs-Élysées Avenue beneath the Arc de Triomphe, waving to crowds from his popemobile.
The head of the Catholic Church blessed several babies as he stopped at different stages along the avenue as chants of "Leo, Leo" rang out.
More than half a million people are expected to attend the event in the heart of the French capital on Saturday and a special altar has been built on the Place de la Concorde for the ceremony.
French President Emmanuel Macron, who met Leo for an hour of talks on Friday, will not be at any of the Pope's Masses during his four-day visit to France, largely to avoid breaching France's strict separation of state and religion.
But the Champs-Élysées Mass will be attended by Macron's wife Brigitte and Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu.
Several candidates for next year's presidential election are also expected to attend.
Marine Le Pen of the hard-right National Rally party and conservative Bruno Retailleau were both pictured at the Place de la Concorde ahead of the event, while centrists Edouard Philippe and Gabriel Attal are also due to be there.
Mayor of Le Havre and former French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe and former Prime Minister Francois Fillon were both also seen at the Place de la Concorde.