Emmanuel Macron congratulated Pope Francis in a telephone interview on Sunday for his recent trip to Iraq, which he described as a "real turning point" for the Middle East, reported the Elysee.
This interview, at the request of the Pope according to the Elysee, was the fourth between the two men since the start of the quinquennium, the last having taken place on October 30, the day after the knife attack that killed three people in a Nice church.
Emmanuel Macron "first of all wished to congratulate Pope Francis on his historic trip to Iraq and return to its impact and importance, calling it a real turning point for the region", according to the presidency.
For three days, at the beginning of March, François performed the premiere of a sovereign pontiff in Iraq, a country regularly shaken by violence, where he went to Baghdad, Mosul and Qaraqosh, in the North tortured by the jihadists.
Emmanuel Macron and the Pope also “shared their thoughts and concerns about the crises that are destabilizing many regions of the world: the expansion of jihadism in Africa, whether in the Sahel or on the continent's east coast;
the situation in Lebanon and more generally the instability caused by countries which use religious diplomacy for political ends, ”added the Elysee.
The president, who went to the Vatican in June 2018, also discussed with the Pope "the challenges of the post-Covid world, subject of the book published by the Holy Father in December", it was specified from same source.