As the Associated Press is reporting, many Parisian revelers demanded that France follow New York's lead as they marched under a sea of rainbow-colored flags and jigged to thumping techno beats in a gay pride parade on Saturday. Despite the festivities, the mood was bittersweet in France, where lawmakers had rejected a bill seeking to legalize same-sex marriage despite growing public support for gay rights a mere two weeks ago.

Elsewhere, in demonstrations across Germany, Israel, Mexico and even Russia – where 14 gay rights activists trying to hold an unsanctioned rally in St. Petersburg were reportedly detained -- New York's legalization wasn't too far from everyone's mind, and many hoped it would be just the start. "The state of New York isn't the United States, unfortunately," 26-year-old German marcher Frederick Hartwig is quoted as saying. "The great victory for the United States will be when the middle of America — the middle of nowhere — will allow everyone to have such rights."

Take a look at gay pride celebrations around the world below:

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