Jean Vila, the mayor of the French town of Cabestany, on Saturday presided over the wedding of two men, calling the move a “militant act,” Reuters News Service reported.

Vila presided over the wedding of Patrick, 48, and Guillaume, 37, in defiance of French law that bans gay and lesbian couples from marrying.

“To outlaw homosexual marriage is to deny the reality of thousands of homosexual couples,” Vila said after the ceremony, which took place inside the town's city hall.

“This decision to join these two people for me is an act of anger and revolt in the face of the authorities' refusal to legitimize such unions,” he continued.

Cabestany is located just 25 miles from the Spanish border. Spain's Socialist government legalized gay marriage in 2005.

(Related: Election threatens to undo Spain's gay marriage law.)

The move was condemned by Claude Greff, a junior minister in President Nicolas Sarkozy's government, which is up for re-election next year.

The marriage was an “electoral provocation on the eve of the presidential election,” Greff said in a statement. “It's unacceptable to use the powers vested in a public official to violate the law.”

Vila, however, did not enter the marriage in the official registry.

Gay and lesbian couples in France are recognized with civil partnerships.