Hearts heave a sigh as Paris removes 'love locks'
Paris, known worldwide as the city of romance, began the heart-breaking process Monday of removing hundreds of thousands of "love-locks", padlocks chained to the city's bridges by adoring couples.- The craze proved money-spinning for some enterprising Parisians who quickly set up a sideline in padlocks with extra-long fasteners, to ensure a place on the bridge.
- However, the padlocks will not be simply tossed aside, stressed Julliard, adding the city was working out what to do with the tonnes of scrap metal piling up in the back of vans.
- Paris made a thoroughly 21st century bid to stop people attaching the padlocks, encouraging lovers to "say it with a selfie" and upload them to a special site with the Twitter hashtag #lovewithoutlocks.
- It is unclear where the ritual originated, but the padlocks bearing lovers' initials have spread from European capitals to as far as Marrakech and China.
- But nothing stands in the way of true love, and tourists have kept piling the locks on the bridge and elsewhere, forcing authorities to take drastic measures.
- Last year police hurriedly ushered tourists off the Pont des Arts when a section of the footbridge collapsed under the weight of the locks covering the 155-metre-(509-foot) long bridge. Plastic panels were put up in places to deter lovebirds, and
- Loved-up visitors from around the world have for years written their names on padlocks to symbolise their passion, then tossed the key into the River Seine so that nothing could ever break the bond. Or at least, that's what they thought.
- Yellow-vested officials were out early Monday morning on the city's iconic Pont des Arts, wielding cutting equipment to free the padlocks while a handful of curious tourists looked on.
Paris, known worldwide as the city of romance, began the heart-breaking process Monday of removing hundreds of thousands of "love-locks", padlocks chained to the city's bridges by adoring couples.
Hearts heave a sigh as Paris removes 'love locks'
Next Story
