An influential French cardinal aligned with Pope Francis's stances was on Wednesday elected France's top bishop, as the country's Catholic Church reels from child sex abuse revelations.

The Archbishop of Marseille, Jean-Marc Aveline, 66, was elected head of the Bishops' Conference of France (CEF), for a term of three years.

The smiling, affable Aveline has advocated for dialogue between religions and cultures, and the defence of migrants, both tenets of Pope Francis's papacy.

He is taking over one of the world's most influential bodies of bishops at a critical moment, as France's Catholic Church is rocked by claims of sexual violence and is under pressure to explain its silence surrounding a charity icon, Abbe Pierre. 

Considered the frontrunner, Aveline was elected in the first round by the bishops gathered in the southwestern town of Lourdes, quickly obtaining the necessary two-thirds majority of the votes.

On 1 July, Aveline will take over from Eric de Moulins-Beaufort, the Archbishop of Reims, who is completing his six-year tenure.

Born in Algeria, Aveline has spent most of his life in the southern port city of Marseille, a historic gateway for immigrants, where he is an emblematic figure.

He was appointed auxiliary bishop of Marseille in 2013 and elevated to cardinal in 2022. 

He has also been mentioned among the favourites to become the next pope.

In 2023, Pope Francis visited Marseille on a two-day trip where he led tens of thousands of worshippers packed into a stadium for a mass.