.
.
.
Writing about the huge collection of padlocks, bicycle locks, small locks, big locks, wide locks, thin locks, love locks, dread locks, goldi-locks which festoon (grace?) the sides of the Pont des Arts in Paris, adjacent to the Louvre, is sort of like writing about the Eiffel Tower. Nearly every one who has been to Paris any time recently will say, "Been there, done that".
.
Well, I hadn't been there yet, though I'd heard several times about the locks of love on the Pont des Arts, and also on the Pont de l’Archevêché just behind Notre Dame Cathedral. So while in Paris to go see the Manuel Alvarez Bravo photo exposition at the Jeu de Paume, with la Grenouille, we strolled over to the Pont des Arts to see what all the fuss was about. Rarely have I seen so many cameras out and snapping away, close up and from a distance, at all the locks fastened to the fencing on the sides of the bridge, symbolizing, supposedly, the everlasting love of the people who placed them there.
.
Not everyone is too thrilled about all the locks and the message they represent. The NYT ran an article in August of this year about the locks titled "An Affront to Love, French-Style". Another article in the Independent relates how the Paris City Hall organised the removal of all the locks, only to see the locks return in even greater numbers after the removal. Personally, I would apply the old dictum, "If it feels good, do it" to the phenomenon. I find this far less offensive than the majority of brainless graffiti that gets painted most anywhere these days. And the variety of colors, styles, and messages makes for some entertaining lock viewing moments, we spent nearly an hour inspecting both sides of the bridge. And honestly, even if imho a padlock is not the right symbol for love, for those who think it is, or are simply having fun, are they hurting anything ? I think not. Some folks are for Rock and Roll, others for Lock and LOL.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
This was the largest of the locks we saw, a sheet metal, bolts, and cable affair, though perhaps not functional. Could double as a chastity device, albeit an uncomfortable one ?
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Visible here the small park at the tip of the Ile de la Cité where American war protesters were camped out in 1970 when I first came to Paris. (ok, that dates me a bit...)
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Not only were there locks, but a trumpeter trumpeting out his love...
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
And readers soaking up all those good vibrations...
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
And young lovers... which is what Paris is all about, whether one likes the locks, or not...
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Clutching
3 days ago