(Editorial) “Here we go”, by Samuel Lieven

These days, hope is in the wind. The price of fuel is soaring, France’s finances leave little margin, the upcoming presidential election is already sharpening the clashes. The climate continues to heat up and the Russian threat weighs on Europe. And now the best experts in artificial intelligence are sounding the alarm about the dangers of a technological and financial race that they no longer seem to control! In short, there are days when the news pushes even the most optimistic to dismantle…

And yet, let us not shy away from our pleasure: Leo XIV arrives in France. Four days, from Paris to Lourdes, then to Metz, that The Pilgrim will accompany as closely as possible. On the ground as in the air: one of our reporters will board the Pope’s plane in Rome on Friday, so as not to miss a beat. The Apostle Peter’s successor will not lower gas prices. It will not close the deficits, it will not stop Russian drones, nor will it put an end to the mad race of artificial intelligence. This is obviously not his role. But in these turbulent times, it can help us look further and drop anchor a little deeper.

In Paris, his words will be addressed to everyone: to political leaders and the world of culture, to young people gathered at the Stade de France and to the crowd expected at the Concorde. Following on from his encyclical Magnificent humanity, above all, it will remind us that human beings cannot be the adjustment variable in a world delivered to force and machines.

In Lourdes, it is a Church close to the poorest and most fragile that Leo XIV will visit. A Church itself bruised by the abuses committed within it for decades. But also a Church of France less moribund than we may have thought or affirmed, whose vitality and the growing number of baptized adults are beginning to appeal beyond our borders.

In Metz, Leo XIV the American, Peruvian by adoption, will remind Europe of itself. Not a Europe called to dominate a world which no longer revolves around it. But a Europe still capable of weighing differently: by defending the law against arbitrariness, human dignity against the law of the strongest, peace against the brutalization of the world.

Let’s live these four days of joy to the fullest! They will probably not change the face of the world. But finding a little hope would already be a lot.