Hundreds Celebrate France’s First Gay Marriage

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/30/world/europe/hundreds-celebrate-frances-first-gay-marriage.html

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PARIS — Two men wed in the southern city of Montpellier on Wednesday in the first legal marriage between people of the same sex in France.

The wedding of Vincent Autin, 40, and Bruno Boileau, 30, came just 11 days after legislation permitting same-sex marriages and adoptions was signed into law by President François Hollande.

The men married in a civil ceremony at the Montpellier town hall conducted by the mayor, Hélène Mandroux, who has been an outspoken proponent of gay rights.

About 500 people were reported to be in attendance, including a government minister and more than 200 journalists. Television news channels offered live coverage, and news agencies published urgent dispatches at the conclusion of the ceremony, which the men sealed with a lengthy embrace.

Opponents of the new law held major street protests around the country in recent months, including a march in Paris on Sunday.