Paris - French President Nicolas Sarkozy and his wife, Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, will welcome Pope Benedict XVI when he arrives Friday at Paris's Orly Airport for a four-day visit to France, Sarkozy's office announced on Wednesday.

Sarkozy will then host the pope at the Elysee Palace for talks, which are to be followed by a reception at which both men will deliver speeches.

Pope Benedict XVI is scheduled to spend two days in Paris before travelling to the pilgrimage site of Lourdes.

Earlier Thursday, the French Interior Ministry announced that some 9,200 security officers will be deployed to protect the pope, with 5,400 to be used for Saturday's open-air mass at the Invalides in the capital, at which 200,000 people are expected to take part.

Another 3,800 police officers, gendarmes and other agents are to be deployed at Lourdes, where Pope Benedict XVI is to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the apparition of the Virgin Mary to a 14-year- old girl named Bernadette Soubirous. (dpa)