Forgive me, but I want to lock myself with you.

Of all the bridges in Paris, there is one that I love, the Pont des Arts. I like it because it is pedestrian, it has railings, so when you sit down you can see the views perfectly on both sides, it is not usually very busy and locals are used to having picnics on the benches and wooden floors. Curiously, those side railings, which seemed so convenient to me, are the same ones that have brought ruin to the bridge.

It turns out that the Moccia phenomenon has crossed Italian borders, and in Paris, lovers have also started to seal their love with a padlock. For those of you unfamiliar with the topic, it all started thanks to Federico Moccia's novel "I Want You", in which the passionate protagonists seal their love by attaching a padlock to the streetlights of Ponte Milvio in Rome. From there, madness: there is a Moccia route that covers the Roman locations mentioned in the novel, people write their passionate messages on the city walls, and the City Council had to prohibit further padlocks from being placed on the bridge for fear that the streetlights would fall down.

But, as we know, love is strong, love can do anything, and padlocks have crossed borders and are surely already in many other places besides Paris, the city of love par excellence, where the effect achieved, however, is somewhat disturbing. The increase of "lovers" on the bridge has led to a greater influx of strollers in general, so in the warmth of the public, new spontaneous vendors have emerged who plague the bridge with "top-mantas" of all kinds of padlocks and shell game meetings on the benches with tricksters and accomplices betting 50-euro bills printed with an HP. No trace of the picnics.