Couple prepares to be France’s 1st gay newlyweds
MONTPELLIER, France — A gay couple in the southern city of Montpellier is preparing to make history by tying the knot in France’s first same-sex marriage.
The ceremony will be held under tight police surveillance, a reminder of the months of bruising opposition to the gay marriage law that passed earlier this month. But groom Bruno Boileau has brushed off concerns that security measures at his wedding to partner Vincent Autin would overshadow their joy.
Montpellier’s mayor, Helene Mandroux, who’ll lead the wedding ceremony in the city council on Wednesday, says “today, men and women in France will no longer be discriminated against when it comes to their sexual orientation.”
On Sunday, tens of thousands of people protested against the new gay marriage law in Paris.