Millions of romantics have gazed into their loved ones eyes and told them: “We’ll always have Paris.”
But soon wannabe Humphrey Bogarts could be paraphrasing the star’s Casablanca line as they savour time they spent in... Newport .
That’s because lovers there have pinched the French habit of attaching padlocks to bridges. Dozens have appeared on the city’s Millennium footbridge.
Some bear the names of couples. Others are unmarked. A few have symbols, like the Chinese Yin Yang. One even marks Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love’s visit to the city.
Not everyone has been impressed by such displays of affection.
GLC rapper John Rutledge, aka Mr Love Eggs, was among them.
“Oh no,” he said.
“Oh dear. It’s going to be structurally unsafe in about six months if they keep doing it.”
More than a million locks had to be removed from Paris’ Pont des Arts after 45 tonnes of metal caused railings to collapse.
“You give people a nice bridge and they cover it in padlocks,” John said.
“Why don’t they write nice love letters and send them to each other?
“I get the idea that it symbolises eternal love, or love as long as a Yale lock will last, but it makes everything structurally unsafe.”
“I want people to have a good time all the time,” he said.
“Maybe the people of Newport could get together and make an allotted love wall to put all these padlocks?
“I’ve nothing against love. I’m all up for it. But we need to have an allotted love zone. Otherwise people are going to put locks on everything and someone could get locked in.”
He dismissed the idea he was being grumpy.
“People won’t say that when they have locks on the side of their car or on their fence and they get out of control and people go lock bonkers,” he said.
“We need to get a grip on this. Love can be expressed through a hug. Or a gentle kiss.
“Safety before love.”
But Kate Williams, from central Newport, disagreed.
“I think this is wonderful!” the self-confessed romantic said.
“Newport needs a bit of romance in its life.
“I am a big fan of romantic gestures – I’m often found crying in joy at YouTube proposal videos – so I think leaving padlocks on bridges as a symbol of love is fabulous, a tribute to lasting love!
“Plus, it’s easier on the eye than a boring fence. Anyone who views this as vandalism has a heart of stone.
“Move over Paris!”
Marie Brousseau-Navarro, honorary French consul in Wales, visits Paris regularly to see her brother.
“I find it very flattering that they like the romanticism of Paris so much that they decided to do this in Newport,” she said.
“It’s great that it can be a new hub for romanticism.
“I guess as a French lady I must be a romantic!”
But she was also pragmatic.
“I love the idea but I guess there is an issue with sustainability and research should be done to ensure it is done in a sustainable way.
“In Paris there was an issue of metal falling into the river and it was polluting the water.”
People would toss the keys from their lock into the river once they had attached them.
“But if we ensure it is done in a sustainable manner taking the environment into account then it could be fantastic,” Marie said.
They have become such a menace in the French capital there is even a campaign against them, called No Love Locks.
They could not be reached for comment at the time of writing.
But on their website they revealed they have declared Valentine’s Day No Love Locks Day.
“Let’s send the message to visitors to the city that hanging a lock on the historic monuments and public spaces of Paris is vandalism that damages the city and hurts the people of France – culturally, economically and emotionally.
“It’s time for tourists to act responsibly, and that means showing their respect and empathy for Parisians by not destroying the beauty and heritage of their city.
“Paris is a romantic place with so much to offer lovers – beyond destructive padlocks that say anything but love.”
Newport Council discouraged amendments to the £5m bridge.
“There are no concerns at present, but we would not encourage people attaching padlocks to the bridge as it could become an issue in the future," a spokeswoman said.
“We are of course pleased that people are finding Newport to be a ‘city of love’ and a place they want to declare it. We often talk about the Friars Walk effect – perhaps it has put love in the air too?"
Friars Walk is the shopping centre opened in the city in 2015.
“We will monitor what is going on, but aesthetically it does not look good, and if lots of people started to do this then weight would become an issue and we would have to remove them.
“With regard to declarations of love, we would recommend that the bridge is used in future only for selfies, and we of course welcome any news of marriage proposals made and accepted on this iconic South Wales structure”.
http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/wales-romantics-made-little-piece-12451285
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