French President Emmanuel Macron has defended his plan to attend a huge mass to be celebrated by Pope Francis in the southern city of Marseille this week, after critics said he was failing to live up to France's secular values.
"I think it's my place to be there. I won't be there as a Catholic, I'll be there as president of the republic, which is indeed secular," Macron said during a trip to Semur-en-Auxois in central France.
