PARIS, May 16 — French President Emmanuel Macron said on yesterday he had called Pope Leo XIV and talked about efforts to reach peace in Ukraine and Gaza in his first conversation with the new pontiff.

In their "first exchange”, the pair "addressed the efforts to let the weapons fall silent wherever conflicts rage in the world, and in particular for a solid and lasting peace in Ukraine and Gaza”, Macron said on X.

"We share the ambition to reconcile the fight against poverty and the protection of the planet,” the French leader said, adding that he had "once again congratulated” the pontiff on his election as head of the Catholic Church last week.

While Macron is not scheduled to join the ranks of the world leaders attending Pope Leo’s inaugural mass in Rome on Sunday morning, France’s Prime Minister Francois Bayrou is due to attend. — AFP