Residents of Gallardon were hot and bothered by the Ahern-Byrnewedding, writes Lara Marlowe
It was hardly an auspicious beginning. After waiting on Saturday in 38-degree heat for hours in the vain hope of glimpsing the young woman described by all as "the Irish Prime Minister's daughter", the frustrated residents of this small town south of Paris booed and jeered the wedding party of Georgina Ahern and Westlife pop star Nicky Byrne. The scene was repeated six times.
Seventy-five minutes after the wedding was supposed to have started, a curtained green van carrying the groom and those whom he described as his "bestest men" drove inside the flimsy white tent that was set up in front of the 12th-century Church of St Peter and St Paul.
Burly security guards wearing black dinner suits zipped the tent shut. The passengers alighted, hidden from the press and townspeople. Only after they had entered the church did the vehicle emerge from the other side of the tent.
That was when the onlookers' anger exploded. There were cries of "C'est dégueulasse" (It's disgusting) and rude comments about the bride and groom. Each time the veiling operation occurred - on arrival and post-wedding departure for the silver van carrying the bridesmaids and the black Mercedes which brought the Taoiseach and his daughter - the catcalls grew louder.
By 5 p.m., when the wedding party left, some locals, emboldened by a few pastis at nearby cafés, vented their rage in front of television cameras.
"It's scandalous. It's scandalous," Denis Traisnel, an engineer and long-time resident of Gallardon screamed. "They took our little village hostage, and we didn't even see the bride for 10 seconds."
His wife, Danielle, said the townspeople had been treated "like imbeciles". "We gave them our little village. We were happy to do it. And they didn't even have the decency to say 'hello'."
Hello! - the magazine, that is - was precisely the problem. The newlyweds had concluded an exclusive deal with the gossip rag for close to €1 million, and it will be annulled if images of the bride and groom get out before Hello! hits newsstands mid-week.
The tent scheme thwarted paparazzi who rented rooms overlooking Cloister Square. The going rate, townspeople claimed, was €1,000.
Commenting on the contract in the People last month, Joanne Byrne, the couple's publicist, said: "Nicky never ruled out going to a magazine. He always said 'If someone offered me silly money, I'd be silly to refuse'."
After the ugly scenes outside the church, Byrne may be wondering whether it was such a good idea to sell the rights to his wedding. "Nicky heard [the booing]," Ms Byrne said yesterday. "But Georgina didn't, and that was Nicky's concern."
The bride had not yet learned of the incidents. "She's been married less than 24 hours. Do you think she's looking at papers? She's with her family and friends, enjoying a brunch."
The Taoiseach's image could suffer from the public relations disaster in Gallardon. The Irish press corps begged for Bertie to come out for a few words, just one or two photos. While two Sunday newspapers quoted Ms Byrne saying that Mr Ahern was constrained by the Hello! contract, Ms Byrne refused to comment when the question was put to her yesterday.
The booing episode appeared to be the result of mutual incomprehension, a collision between Ireland's political and pop music élite and a small French town attached to its traditions. "I don't know the people, so I don't understand," Ms Byrne said.
"I wouldn't know why they would be booing. I'm sure they have their reasons."
Most residents said they didn't mind the blocked streets and security presence; their pique was due to disappointment. Some residents believed Bono of U2 (who is already married) was to be the groom, and others that David Beckham and Prince Charles would be attending.
"I tried to explain the Hello! deal to them. I told them they wouldn't see anything," the acting mayor of Gallardon, Mr Paul Holzl, said. "They wouldn't listen."
Mikael Matthieu, a 19-year-old student, understood perfectly well why his friends and neighbours booed the bridal party.
"There are weddings here every Saturday. It livens the place up," he said. "People come out to see the bride's dress, and they always applaud. They wanted to see her. That's why they're unhappy."
French police got Mr Holzl a seat inside the church. Afterwards, he held court at the café across the square, where he described the bride's tightly fitting, off-white, strapless gown with its long train.
The groom, Mr Holzl said, wore a knee-length off-white jacket. "They held hands the whole time. They both looked moved."
A few smuggled copies of the wedding programme, tied in purple ribbon, fell into journalists' hands. Music was clearly the highlight of the occasion, with Ronan Keating singing I Love the Way You Love Me.
Cathy Vard, of the Vard sisters' trio, sang Schubert's Ave Maria. Nadine Coyle from Girls Aloud sang Fields of Gold by Sting, and accompanied the signing of the register with a rendition of Céline Dion's Because You Love Me.
While Keating was rehearsing that morning, two young women huddled up against the side door of the church.
Julie Sobezack (21) and Sonia Benkheder (19) must be the only Westlife fans in France, and they were eavesdropping. They have travelled to London and Dublin for concerts and drove 80km to wait outside the church.
The two friends learned about the wedding on the Internet and took their devotion to extreme lengths, going so far as to meet an Aer Lingus flight to Paris last Wednesday.
They guessed correctly, and were able to congratulate Georgina and Nicky in person, in the arrivals section of Roissy airport.
All afternoon they waited in the scorching sun outside the church, but Ms Sobezack did not achieve her dream of hearing her idol say "I do".
But as Bryan McFadden told us after the wedding: "You can see it all in the magazine."