MONTPELLIER, France (AP) — In a historic ceremony broadcast live on French television, the first gay couple to marry in France said, “Oui,” and then sealed the deal with a lengthy and very public kiss.
Hundreds of invited guests, including a government minister, gathered for the ceremony Wednesday inside City Hall in this southern French city. Hundreds more flocked to the square outside the building as Vincent Autin, 40, and his 30-year-old partner, Bruno Boileau, were wed.
The politically charged ceremony was held under tight police surveillance — a stark reminder of the months of bruising opposition to the new gay-marriage law that French lawmakers passed earlier this month.