France, March 27 -- As part of his Africa tour in April, Leo will travel to Algeria, Cameroon, Angola and then Equatorial Guinea - a small Central African country of just 2 million people, most of whom are Christian.

With street cleaning and public works already underway, members of the public say they are being asked to contribute to the cost of both preparations and the two-day visit, which takes place from 21 to 23 April.

In February, civil servants and members of the armed forces say they saw their wages docked. Sums deducted range from 20,000 to 55,000 CFA francs (€30 to €75), depending on salaries, according to several testimonies gathered by French news agency AFP.

"I had 55,000 CFA francs (€84) taken from...