Macron pays a visit as French abbey Mont-Saint-Michel celebrates its 1,000th birthday

France’s beloved abbey of Mont-Saint-Michel has reached a ripe old age. It has been 1,000 years since the first stone was put in place.

The millennial of the UNESCO World Heritage Site and Normandy tourist magnet is being celebrated until November with exhibits, dance performances and concerts — and now, a presidential visit.

President Emmanuel Macron visited the abbey Monday and delivered a speech, calling on the French people to “push themselves further” in facing global challenges such as climate change. He drew a comparison with the abbey, which embodies the “French spirit” of “resilience” and “resistance.” It was veiled rhetoric, coming one day before another planned protest against his contested pension reform law.

France’s leaders have long flocked to this symbolically important site to send out political messages. In 2007, Nicolas Sarkozy launched his successful presidential campaign there.

Macron also visited a new exhibit tracing the Romanesque abbey’s history via 30 objects, including a restored statue of St. Michael. Legend has it that the archangel Michael appeared in 708 and instructed the bishop of nearby Avranches to build him a church on the rocky outcrop.

The exhibit, which opened last month, covers the process of building what is considered an architectural jewel on a rocky island that is linked to the mainland at high tide by a narrow causeway.

In 966, four crypts were constructed on the granite tip, with a church on top. The exhibit explains how this original structure became too small for crowds of visiting pilgrims, spurring the construction of the abbey in the 11th century.

Mont-Saint-Michel in Normandy.

(David Vincent / Associated Press)

France has spent more than $34 million over 15 years to restore the building, and the work is nearing completion. Authorities have tried in recent years to protect the surrounding environment from the impact of mass tourism.

One of the most popular French destinations outside of Paris, Mont-Saint-Michel island last year attracted 2.8 million visitors, 1.3 million of whom went to the abbey.