Pope calls for Europe to welcome migrants during Marseille visit

Pope Francis is welcomed by French PM Elisabeth Borne (Alessandra Tarantino/AP)

Pope Francis has arrived in the French port city of Marseille to amplify his call for the Mediterranean to be a place of welcome for migrants, not a cemetery for people who die trying to cross the sea to Europe.

French prime minister Elisabeth Borne met the pope on the airport tarmac for the arrival ceremony. His two-day visit comes as Europe is again seeing an increasing number of people who set off in flimsy boats from Tunisia for Italy.