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Newlyweds resting on the Pont des Arts in Paris last year. Any hope that the love locks that cling to the famous span over the Seine would last forever will be unromantically dashed by the city council who plan to dismantle them Monday.
Remy de la Mauviniere/AP
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Remy de la Mauviniere/AP
Newlyweds resting on the Pont des Arts in Paris last year. Any hope that the love locks that cling to the famous span over the Seine would last forever will be unromantically dashed by the city council who plan to dismantle them Monday.
Remy de la Mauviniere/AP
For several years now, couples in Paris have been saying “Je t’aime” by placing a padlock on the city’s famed Pont des Arts bridge. And it has begun to weigh on the famous span –- to the tune of some 45 tons.
Lovers (mostly tourists, Parisians say), have placed nearly a million padlocks on a fence along the bridge and then thrown the key into the Seine as a symbol of their undying adoration. But city officials have a less romantic view of it all, blaming the padlocks for “long-term heritage degradation and a risk for visitors’ security.”
As the Associated Press notes, the locks “became a symbol of danger after a chunk of fencing fell off under their weight.”
Many Parisians say the locks are tres gauche in a city that prides itself on elegance and style. They are happy to bid the problem adieu.
“Sorry tourists! Paris says #NoLoveLocks! No more vandalism to Paris!” an online campaign against the locks posted on Twitter.
Others are heartbroken over the move:
I can’t believe the locks on the “love lock” bridge in Paris are being taken down