( CNN ) -- A right-wing historian and author killed himself inside the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris Tuesday in front of horrified tourists , police said . About 1,500 people at the cathedral were evacuated , CNN affiliate BFM reported . The site is one of the world 's most prominent churches and a huge tourist attraction in the French capital . BFM identified the man as Dominique Venner , 78 . Le Monde newspaper quoted a rector at the cathedral , who said the man placed a letter on the altar and then shot himself . On his blog , Venner has lashed out against same-sex marriage and what he called a future Islamist takeover of France . In a post published Tuesday , he wrote , `` The essence of a man is in his existence and not in another world . It 's here and now that you have to play out your destiny until the last second . And this last second has as much importance as the rest of the life . '' In the blog , Venner voiced his support for those expected to take part in a massive demonstration in Paris May 26 against same-sex marriage . But he said their fight should not be limited to that issue , and they must also denounce what he predicted would be the replacement of the French and European population with Muslims . `` There certainly have to be new actions , spectacular and symbolic , to shake up the sleepiness , to shake the numbed consciences and wake up the memory of our origins , '' the blog said . `` We 're entering into a time when words must be authenticated by actions . '' Right-wing politician Marine Le Pen tweeted about her `` respect '' for him . His `` last gesture , which was highly political , was to try to wake up the people of France , '' she wrote . Some took to Twitter to slam Le Pen for the remark . CNN 's Alanne Orjoux and Josh Levs contributed to this report .
A man committed suicide in the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris , police say . The site was evacuated . The man , identified as Dominique Venner , regularly lashed out against same-sex marriage and Islamists . Right-wing politician Marine Le Pen expressed respect for him .