“Good morning Marseille, good morning France”: with these words, in French, Pope Francis began the great service today at the Velodrome stadium in Marseillein front of tens of thousands of people, including President Emmanuel Macron.

The pontiff had previously half-hour meeting with the French president, which focused primarily on the international situationmainly in Ukraine, Africa, Nagorno-Karabakh, and even on environmental issues, according to Elysee.

Emmanuel Macron spoke about immigration. While the head of the Roman Catholic Church denounced the “indifference” of European political officials to migrants, “France has nothing to be ashamed of, it is a country of welcome and integration,” the French presidency said.

Pope Francis arrived at the Stade Velodrome, home of the Olympique Marseille soccer players, after riding up the avenue Prado in the papal vehicle under a bright sun and with the crowd to warmly welcome him holding flags of France, Marseille and the Vaticanwhile some shouted “Long live the Pope, welcome to Marseille!”

On his arrival, a huge “choreo” was unfurled by Olympique Marseille fans, depicting the bust of the pontiff next to the so-called “Good Mother” the Notre-Dame-De-La-Garde Basilica, the church of the city’s patron saint. Behind this banner, which was unfurled from the south side roof, the thousands of spectators first drew with cardboard a blue cross on a white background, the flag of Marseille, before writing there a huge “Thank you” in yellow letters formed from gold papers .

Among the guests was the president of the European Central Bank, Christine Lagarde.

Emmanuel Macron’s presence was criticized by left-wing elected officials in the name of respecting the secular character of the state, while some far-right elected officials preferred to boycott the service because of the Pope’s speech on immigrants.

For this great function, where nearly 60,000 people had flooded the stands, a “highly unusual” security apparatus was deployed, with the mobilization of 6,000 police and a thousand private security guards.