"He's interfering with the conclave": in Italy, Macron accused by the press of wanting to choose the Pope

On the front lines, whatever the election. In Italy, Emmanuel Macron is accused by several newspapers close to Giorgia Meloni 's government of wanting to influence the conclave that is to elect the new pope after Francis's death . "Macron even wants to choose the Pope," La Verita reports. "Macron is even interfering with the conclave," Libero adds. For Il Tempo, this is "interventionism worthy of a modern Sun King."

The starting point for these rumors was a dinner at the French embassy in Rome after the burial of Pope Francis on April 26, where Emmanuel Macron met with four of the five French cardinal electors of the new Pope, including Jean-Marc Aveline, the Archbishop of Marseille, who could well become Pope.

Italian newspapers also take a dim view of Emmanuel Macron's relationship with the Catholic movement Sant'Egidio, which is close to Pope Francis and to which Matteo Zuppi, currently one of the best placed to lead the Vatican, belongs.

Emmanuel Macron's alleged attempts to influence the conclave have scandalized the Big Mouths : "He always beats his own records," fumed Emmanuel De Villiers this Friday.

"He burst into the conclave even though he himself is not Catholic, and he did not make the sign of the cross in front of the late Pope or Johnny Hallyday's coffin. It's astonishing. He is the international champion of bad taste," he added, very angry.

"Macron is reportedly campaigning for Matteo Zuppi, whom Meloni hates because of his close stance toward Pope Francis," Etienne Liebig analyzes. "But we're in a completely different world, the cardinals couldn't care less what anyone else thinks, including Meloni and Macron," he recalls on RMC and RMC Story .

"The method isn't good, Emmanuel Macron always overdoes it," laments Olivier Truchot. "It's going to anger the other cardinals, and I think the Marseillais has already lost in advance."

The conclave to elect the future pope is scheduled to begin this Wednesday, May 7. All cardinals under the age of 80 are invited to participate in the vote. As of April 21, there were 252 cardinals, including 135 under the age of 80, including 6 French citizens. A majority of at least two-thirds of the votes of these 135 cardinals will then be required to elect a new pope. Under these conditions, the vote may take some time before white smoke emerges from the Sistine Chapel .