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Couples Mourn Paris Attack Victims Together; Parisians Express Thanks For American Friendship

PARIS (CBSNewYork) -- Paris, the City of Lights, is also known as the City of Romance.

As CBS2's Tony Aiello reported, at least three couples died together in the terrorist attacks this past Friday, and many others were taking time to mourn four days later.

It's a Paris ritual for countless couples – they sign a padlock to honor their love and hang it on the fence, with the key tossed into the River Seine.

It is a poignant place to reflect on a sad fact – at least three couples enjoying a night in Paris were among the victims.

"It's awful, and when I heard the news, I just couldn't stop crying," said Dani Hutchins of Leicester, England. "It's horrible."



Hutchins and her partner said knowing the pain in Paris, they were considering canceling their holiday.

"Honestly, I did think about canceling, but then, it's just kind of letting them win, isn't it?" Hutchins said. "They want to terrify us, so we're saying just saying no – we're not going to let that happen."

A California couple was in Paris Tuesday to celebrate their 20th anniversary. Their Airbnb rental was just up the street from one of the memorials to the terror victims.

"First we went to them, the first night, and it was very moving," said Laurel Leone, "and after the second night, we just tried to steer around them because it's kind of too much."

Boulevard Voltaire, the street in front of the Bataclan Club, had reopened Tuesday. The concert hall was where 89 people died from terrorist bullets and suicide bomb vests.

A crowd was gathering to take in the scene Tuesday, and some people were quite emotional. When one Frenchman learned that CBS2's Aiello was a New Yorker, he suddenly hugged Aiello and insisted upon expressing his thanks for America's friendship.

"Les États-Unis sont un frère," the man said. The translation is, "The U.S. is a brother."

After the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, New Yorkers in particular can sympathize what Paris is going through.

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