France Set To Hold First Gay Marriage In Montpellier
https://nigeriaafrica1.blogspot.com/2013/05/france-set-to-hold-first-gay-marriage.html
France will celebrate its first gay marriage in the southern city of Montpellier tomorrow, after months of bitter debate and opposition that saw tens of thousands take to the streets.
Officially a secular republic, France is overwhelmingly Catholic and the issue of gay adoption and marriage - a key campaign pledge of Socialist President Francois Hollande - has caused deep divisions.
On Sunday, at least 150-thousand demonstrators took to the streets of Paris in a last-ditch protest to denounce the new law and the largely peaceful gathering later turned violent.
The country's first gay couple to marry will be 40-year-old Vincent Aubin and Bruno Boileau, 30, in Montpellier, known to homosexuals as the "French San Francisco" because of its gay-friendly reputation.
After the ceremony, the newlyweds plan to publicly thank those who battled for homosexuals to have the right to marry, but the local administration has banned festivities outside the venue, fearing protests.
On Sunday, at least 150-thousand demonstrators took to the streets of Paris in a last-ditch protest to denounce the new law and the largely peaceful gathering later turned violent.
The country's first gay couple to marry will be 40-year-old Vincent Aubin and Bruno Boileau, 30, in Montpellier, known to homosexuals as the "French San Francisco" because of its gay-friendly reputation.
After the ceremony, the newlyweds plan to publicly thank those who battled for homosexuals to have the right to marry, but the local administration has banned festivities outside the venue, fearing protests.
