Pope at Elysee

Pope Benedict XVI arrived at Elysee Palace , in France, this afternoon for a meeting with the French president, followed by a speech in which he is expected to debate the controversial question of laicism. The Pope was received by President Nicolas Sarkozy and his wife Carla Bruni. He then had a conversation with Sarkozy and other 2 French ministers : Michèle Alliot-Marie and Jean-Pierre Jouyet.
Sarkozy then introduced a few members of his family to the Pope, among them his mother Andrée Sarkozy and his mother-in-law Marisa Bruni-Tedeschi.
Among those present, at the speeches of both Pope benedict XVI and French President Nicolas Sarkozy, the most important religous figures in France, members of the French government, lots of politicians and Paris` mayor Bertrand Delanoë.
The last visit of a Pope in France was that of Pope John Paul II in 1997, when he was received by that time French president Jacques Chirac.

Source : Gala. fr