Vincent Autin and Bruno Boileau become France’s first married gay couple
Bruno Boileau (L) applauds next to Vincent Autin during their marriage, France’s first official gay marriage, in the city hall in Montpellier on May 29, 2013. France is the 14th country to legalize same-sex marriage, an issue that has also divided opinion in many other nations. The definitive vote in the French parliament came on April 23 when the law was passed legalizing both homosexual marriages and adoptions by gay couples.
Two men became the first gay couple to marry in France on Wednesday, just days after President Francois Hollande signed the country's same-sex marriage bill into law.
Vincent Autin and Bruno Boileau said "I do" in the southern city of Montpellier amid tight security. Autin, a 40-year-old gay rights activist, met 30-year-old Boileau in 2006.
"When French children are born into this world, they are born with the same rights as everyone else — but from the moment you said you were a homosexual, society deprived you of some of those rights," Autin told CNN in the couple's only interview on their wedding day.
BBC tweeted a photo of the newly married couple just after they said "oui."
Around 600 guests were invited to their wedding and 150 media crews were accredited for the ceremony. Extra police were also called in, as the extreme-right, who opposed the passing of the new law, were expected to show up to the ceremony.
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Hollande had warned those who oppose gay marriage that he would not accept any disruptions of Autin and Boileau's nuptials.
"We hope it'll be forever, but if ever it ends, we'll be equal to any other married couple in that mess," quipped Autin in one of many local media interviews before the big day.
Montpellier had originally planned to broadcast the ceremony on a giant TV screen in the square outside the wedding location, but a change of plans moved the live broadcast online, to city council's website.
"It's a stressful time for Victor and Bruno. There are people who will try to mark this symbolic day with words of hate," said Elodie Brun, a coordinator at the local Gay Pride Association, which Autin heads.
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Autin came out to his mother when he was 16 and, since then, she has been a regular at gay pride events, lobbying for parents of gay children. During the latest demonstration in favor of same-sex marriage, she carried a sign that read: "Proud to be mother to a gay son."
Autin and Boileau have said they would like to adopt a child after they marry.