Security tight in France as pilgrims descend on Lourdes

Catholic pilgrims from around the world, many sick or disabled, converged on a shrine in the French town of Lourdes under exceptional security following recent extremist attacks.

Armed soldiers and police patrolled the railway station and town centre and inside the sanctuary at Lourdes, where a 19th century village girl said she had visions of the Virgin Mary.

The site in southern France, near the Spanish border, draws pilgrims of all kinds, some hoping for a cure from the famous spring water in the Lourdes grotto.