Paris Says 'Au Revoir' to Famous 'Love Locks'
The locks memorialized undying love on the Pont des Arts bridge in Paris.
— -- Lovers flocking to the “City of Love” should leave their padlocks behind.
Paris officials today began the process of removing the thousands of “love locks” on the city’s Pont des Arts bridge that romantics have left behind after throwing the key into the River Seine below.
The tradition caused the bridge’s infrastructure to weaken as the weight of the padlocks became too much for the bridge to bear.
In June of last year, police had to rush to evacuate the bridge after a five-foot section of its rail crumbled under the padlocks’ weight.
Protesters launched a “No Love Locks” campaign to help save the bridge and a petition launched that described the practice as putting the “delicate Pont des Arts" in "mortal danger."
Authorities plan to remove 45 tons of padlocks from the bridge and install padlock-proof plexiglass panels to prevent them from reappearing, the Associated Press reports.
