PARIS, Aug 25: The four-day visit to Paris by Pope John Paul II has been hailed as a success in terms of enthusiasm for his public appearances, but marred by an abortion row which he failed to defuse.

The 77-year-old pontiff, slated to host a vast open-air mass for up to one million people on Sunday, was attacked by the ruling Socialist Party of Premier Lionel Jospin over a visit to the grave of a noted anti-abortion campaigner.

And despite repeated claims that the visit was strictly private, French Catholics conceded that the Pope had not managed to avoid controversy over the issue.

``France is a free country where everyone can say what they want,'' Cardinal Jean-Marie Lustiger, the archbishop of Paris, said on Saturday. But he added: ``You have to excuse this French mania for rows.''

The Pope, who arrived in Paris on Thursday to attend the World Youth Day festival for young Catholics from 160 countries, visited the grave of Jerome Lejeune, a geneticist and noted anti-abortion campaigner, on Friday.

It was sandwiched between a series of public appearances -- including a carnival-like mass in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower attended by half a million -- which far exceeded forecasts by church authorities, who had feared a low turnout.

The visit to the cemetery in Chalo-Saint-Mars, south of Paris, had attracted criticism from pro-abortion groups even before the Pope arrived, but church officials insisted it was strictly private.

Within hours of the trip, the Socialist Party joined critics of the visit, saying, ``The significance of this move can only create bad feelings and risks, encouraging in our country those who are waging a battle marked by intolerance.''

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.