The Albany Gazette - France's Macron talks war, peace and basketball with Pope Leo

The French leader wanted above all to discuss "the resolution of the crisis in the Middle East" with the head of the world's 1.4 billion Catholics, a spokesman for Macron's office told reporters ahead of the meeting.

Lebanon, where deadly Israeli strikes threatened this week's temporary truce between the United States and Iran, is a particular cause for concern for both men.

After the meeting, Macron said he was "very happy" to meet the pontiff, writing on X: "We share the same conviction -- in the face of the world's fractures, action for peace is a duty and a requirement."

In a statement, the Vatican said Pope Leo and his top officials had discussed with Macron "conflicts around the world, expressing hope that peaceful coexistence can be re-established through dialogue and negotiation".

There were also lighter moments, with Vatican footage showing Macron presenting the pope with a jersey signed by members of the French national basketball team.

Chicago-born Leo, the first American pope, is a sports fan, enjoying baseball and basketball, while he swims and plays tennis regularly at his out-of-town residence.

This week, he met members of the Harlem Globetrotters basketball team after his general audience, where the 70-year-old was seen attempting the trick of spinning a ball on his finger.

- US criticism -

Both Macron and Pope Leo have called for dialogue to end the war in the Middle East and distanced themselves from the bellicose rhetoric of US President Donald Trump, whose decision to launch strikes on Iran triggered the war.

Leo condemned this week the "unacceptable" threats to Iran's civilian population, after Trump warned that "a whole civilisation will die" if Iranian leaders did not bow to his demands.

Macron has also been critical, saying there was "too much talk, and it's all over the place".

Both welcomed the US-Iranian ceasefire and have urged a diplomatic solution to the war, which has expanded across the Middle East and roiled the global economy.

It was not the first time that Leo, who took office last May following the death of Pope Francis, has criticised the government of his native country, after denouncing its treatment of migrants as "inhuman".

The Vatican on Friday denied a media report that a top Pentagon official gave the Holy See's envoy to the United States a "bitter lecture" in January following comments by Pope Leo seen as critical of Trump.

The story "does not correspond to the truth in any way", spokesman Matteo Bruni told reporters, the day after the Pentagon dismissed the account as "highly exaggerated and distorted".

In a January speech, Leo XIV did not name Trump but lamented that dialogue was being replaced by "diplomacy based on force", and that war was "back in vogue".

- France visit? -

Macron is not a practising Catholic but had a good relationship with Leo's predecessor, Pope Francis, meeting him three times and discussing with him both global crises and spirituality.

Their relationship also had its tensions, with the late Argentine criticising the inclusion of abortion in the French constitution, and Macron's proposal to introduce assisted dying in France.

Vatican footage showed Macron and Leo -- a more reserved character than his predecessor -- greeting each other formally in their first meeting, and speaking English.

The French president was expected to invite Leo to visit France soon.

Francis never made a state visit to France and declined to attend the opening of the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris in 2024, five years after its devastation by fire.

Friday's meeting at the Vatican comes three days before the pope visits the former French colony of Algeria, the first trip there by a pontiff.

(C.Young--TAG)