About

Logo for Blog copyNo Love Locks™ was founded in January 2014 by two friends—both named Lisa—who have chosen to call Paris home, and who have become increasingly concerned about the damage being caused by the hundreds of thousands of heavy locks being attached to several of the city’s historic bridges, and the over one million keys polluting the  Seine River in Paris.

Lisa Anselmo, is an author and coach, as well as a creative director specializing in brand building for publishing. Her memoir based on her blog, My (Part-time) Paris Life, is published by Thomas Dunne Books/St. Martin’s Press. After years of regular visits to Paris, Lisa decided to put down more permanent roots in her “other” city after the death of her mother from breast cancer. Paris, for her, was a place of healing and joy. After seeing the state of the Pont de l’Archevêché in late 2013, surprised at the decay from thousands of “love locks” thoughtlessly vandalizing the beauty of her favorite city, she blogged about the “love locks” problem in a humorous post,  “Dear Tourists, Please Unlock Your Love,” that went viral with over 3000 page views on one day—proving others felt this trend was a harmful practice.  Shortly after, she co-founded No Love Locks with Lisa Taylor Huff in an effort to bring awareness to the problem and find a solution to preserve the beauty and history of Paris. She calls this fight to preserve the heritage and beauty of the city “the ultimate love letter to Paris.”

Lisa Taylor Huff, who sadly passed away in July 2015, was a freelance writer from NJ, who had been living in Paris since 2006 and had dual US-French citizenship. Lisa was a memoirist, a Paris expat blogger and travel writer; she had also ghostwritten several books, and in 2006 published “The Writing Coach’s Guide to FINALLY Writing Your Book!” (iUniverse 2007). She just completed a memoir inspired by her 10-year-old blog, The Bold Soul, about how she decided to boldly change her life and move to Paris at the age of 45, where she found the life and love she always wanted. Lisa met her French husband, Georges, in Paris in 2007. Lisa described why she decided to partner with long-time friend Lisa Anselmo to co-found No Love Locks: “Georges and I spent our first Valentine’s Day together having a picnic on the Pont des Arts in 2008, just before there were any locks, and we were married later that year. My connection to the Pont des Arts runs very deep, dating back to my first visit to Paris in 1998, and leading up that first romantic picnic with Georges. It was once my favorite view of Paris, but the vandalism caused by too many locks and disrespectful tourists have destroyed both the view and my memories. So for me, the No Love Locks campaign is very personal, both for myself as a Parisian and for my three French step-children; after all, these historic bridges and beautiful city center are their cultural heritage.”

Our Mission:

  1. To educate the public about the negative effects of placing locks on public spaces and fragile historic structures
  2. To research and suggest less destructive (and more original) ways for lovers and others to commemorate special moments—because we still believe in celebrating love and life
  3. To support, wherever feasible, the efforts of city administrators—in Paris and elsewhere—in finding solutions for the removal and prevention of “love locks,” and to promote any legislation that would ban or restrict this act of vandalism
  4. To promote responsible tourism and educate visitors to Paris and other cities on the importance of respecting the heritage and culture of other peoples

On March 9, 2014, with upcoming Mayoral and City Council elections, No Love Locks launched a petition to encourage others to support a citywide “love locks” ban in Paris. You don’t need to be French or live in Paris to have your voice heard. Sign today and share it with your social network around the world! The petition is available in the following languages: English | Français 

While our efforts are mainly focused on protecting the architectural heritage of Paris, we welcome input and dialogue with other cities that have been trying to cope with this problem. We also welcome your comments and suggestions about ways in which we can turn this trend around and reclaim the historic bridges and beautiful river views that have been lost due to “love locks.”

Follow us on Facebook for more up-to-date news, and to find out how you can help us spread the message and remove the locks.

Join our movement, and help to free our historic bridges and beautiful public spaces from the weight of all that “love.”

Lisa and Lisa

15 thoughts on “About”

  2. I completely agree with no love locks! While at the beginning i thought the idea was cute, now it irks me to see them everywhere, not only Paris. Why not tie ribbons instead? 🙂

    Reply

  3. im 14 and some people say im too young to know anything but i have to honset the locks are a little to much but the locks dont only represent the love for couples it also is for the love of someone who has died or has had a big inpact on their lives and im not saying your coldhearted but the feeling of someone taking off the symbol for they love for someone dont you feel a little pain or gulit

    Reply

    1. Hi Kayla! Thank you so much for deciding to comment. We’re delighted to know that someone who is your age has strong opinions and isn’t afraid to express them! We do know that the locks represent love to the people who leave them on the bridges, and we really do understand that people have strong feelings about the locks if they have left them or if they have the desire to do so. We respect those feelings, and we are not telling the city of Paris that we want the locks to be thrown away – not at all! We really hope that any locks that are removed will be relocated or reused in some really special way, something that would be respectful of the love of the people who have left them there. Some people have suggested the creation of an art sculpture or a fountain — there are many possibilities! We know some people might prefer the locks to stay where they are, but the reality is that there are just far too many of them, and they are spreading all over the city! Just yesterday we received photos showing the locks on yet another bridge in Paris, the Pont Notre Dame, which is a beautiful bridge; and also there are locks on the fences in front of a church called Sacre Coeur which isn’t even near the river. And three people have told us that tourists are now putting them ON the Eiffel Tower! Don’t you find that a little shocking? I know we do. It just seems that visitors to Paris mean well, but they don’t realize that their locks could be causing damage and making bridges, monuments and public spaces less beautiful. And when you have 93 tons of locks on a footbridge, that just doesn’t sound safe to us, either. Last year, there were 32.3 MILLION tourists who came to Paris. What if every one of them wanted to put a lock on one of our bridges or monuments — or even 1 or 2 million! It is simply clear to us that the city has to take some action to protect these bridges and monuments. So… we will continue to try and get the city to do something to save the bridges and at the same time, to create a special NEW place for the locks in Paris. And thank you again for leaving such a thoughtful comment. 🙂

      Reply

      1. It only makes sense to remove the locks. I like the idea of making a fountain out of them. Tossing a coin into that fountain (to show someones everlasting love, would be more beneficial. Use the money from the fountain to repair the damage to the bridges or help the poor. I can’t think of a better way to share the love that the couples in the past had with the couples in the present.

  4. I have also seen the lock sellers kicking out the corners of the full panels so they replace them with new empty ones in order to sell more locks.You’re right, they are doing regular damage.

    Reply
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Free Your Love. Save Our Bridges.