Pope Leo XIV's visit classified as a major security event

The visit of Pope Leo XIV to France, from September 25 to 28, 2026, is officially classified as a “major event” by Decree No. 2026-839 of September 3, 2026, published in the Official Journal of the French Republic (JORF No. 0206) on September 4, 2026. The text, signed by the Ministry of the Interior under NOR INTC2622998D, applies Article L. 211-11-1 of the Internal Security Code to this visit organized by the Conference of Bishops of France.

A Legal Framework for Enhanced Security

The decree places all sites of the visit under the procedure provided for in Article R. 211-32 of the Internal Security Code. Any person accessing the concerned establishments and installations, in a capacity other than that of a spectator, must submit to this screening procedure. The competent authority to issue the opinion following the administrative inquiry is the Minister of the Interior.

The concerned prefects are informed of the opinions issued, each as it pertains to them:

the Prefect of Police;
the Prefect of Seine-Saint-Denis;
the Prefect of Hautes-Pyrénées;
the Prefect of Moselle.

Sites and Visit Schedule

The visit takes place across five territories, from September 25 to 28, 2026, with a precise security perimeter for each stage:

Paris (75): on September 25, the public reception areas on Avenue de Suffren, Avenue de Lowendal, Avenue de Tourville, Place Vauban, Avenue de Villars, Boulevard des Invalides, Boulevard du Montparnasse, Avenue de l’Observatoire, Boulevard Saint-Michel, Place Saint-Michel, and Boulevard du Palais, as well as Notre-Dame de Paris Cathedral and its square; on September 26, the Bakhita House, the Catholic Institute of Paris, Place de la Concorde, and Avenue des Champs-Élysées;
Saint-Denis (93): on September 25, the enclosure of the Stade de France and its parking, loading, and unloading zones;
Lourdes (65): from September 26 to 27, the enclosure of the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes and the adjacent sites and roads (Route de la Forêt, Mater Dolorosa and Croix Glorieuse chapels, Way of the Cross, Boulevard Rémi-Sempé, Boissarie municipal parking lot, Carmel of Lourdes);
Metz (57): from September 27 to 28, Saint-Étienne Cathedral, the Metz Congrès Robert Schuman convention center, and the first floor of the Bishopric of Metz;
Goin (57): on September 28, the terminal of the Metz-Nancy-Lorraine Airport.

A Constrained Administrative Timeline

The organizer of the major event must submit the requests for opinion to the administrative authority no later than September 28, 2026, at midnight. The binding opinion issued by the administrative authority is then sent to the organizer within one month following its transmission. The Minister of the Interior is responsible for the execution of the decree, which was published in the Official Journal of the French Republic.

A direct impact on public safety

This classification as a “major event” has a direct impact on public safety and the mass movements expected around the stages of the sovereign pontiff’s visit. It strictly regulates access to the emblematic sites of the visit, from Notre-Dame de Paris Cathedral to the sanctuary of Lourdes, including the Stade de France. For readers, this means reinforced checks and delimited security perimeters across all concerned sites, from September 25 to 28, 2026.

Official source: Decree No. 2026-839 of September 3, 2026, implementing Article L. 211-11-1 of the Internal Security Code for the visit of Pope Leo XIV to France, NOR INTC2622998D, published in the Official Journal of the French Republic No. 0206 of September 4, 2026.