A 78-year-old man has killed himself inside the cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris in the French capital, police say, causing its evacuation.
The man pulled out a shot-gun and shot himself through the mouth beside the main altar shortly after 16:00 (14:00 GMT).
He has been named as Dominique Venner, an award-winning far-right historian.
Mr Venner had recently been involved in the campaign against the government's decision to legalise gay marriage.
On Saturday, President Francois Hollande signed the bill into law.
Police said Mr Venner had made no statement before killing himself, although a note was found next to his body. They did not disclose its contents.
Screengrab of Dominique Venner's blog (21 May 2013) Dominique Venner's latest blog entry condemned the government's decision to legalise gay marriage
Earlier on Tuesday, he had written on his blog a damning critique of the same-sex marriage bill.
"New spectacular and symbolic actions are needed to wake up the sleep walkers and shake the anaesthetised consciousness," he wrote.
"We are entering a time when acts must follow words."
Mr Venner is also a former member of the Secret Army Organisation (OAS), which opposed Algerian independence in the early 1960s and tried to assassinate Charles De Gaulle.
What can I say about this, except that whatever wrong that the poor man was protesting against, it was nothing in comparison to what he did to himself. Killing himself in a cathedral is like a direct protest against God as well.
Related link: Man kills himself inside Notre-Dame cathedral in Paris ~ BBC