Paris to sever bonds of love

TOO much love can be a bad thing: Paris city officials, exasperated with lovers sealing their passion by clipping padlocks all over the city, are set to remove 45 tons of the locks next week.

Tourists from all over the world flock to the Pont des Arts bridge spanning the River Seine to attach a lock representing their eternal love, and throw the key into the river.

But the iconic bridge is buckling under the weight of such devotion, and authorities are desperate to stop the craze.

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 155m-long span.

Plastic panels were put up in places to deter lovebirds and authorities launched a drive to get tourists to upload selfies instead of attaching a lock.

But nothing stands in the way of true love, and tourists have kept piling the locks on the bridge and elsewhere.

The Pont de l’Archeveche bridge in front of the Notre Dame cathedral is now as inundated with locks, while stray locks can often be spotted around the city.

Deploring the “destruction of heritage” and the security risk for tourists on the overloaded Pont des Arts, Paris officials have decided to remove all locks from Monday. “We will remove nearly one million padlocks, or 45 tons,” said official Bruno Julliard, criticising the “ugliness” of the locks on some of Paris’s most beautiful bridges.

The metal grilles of the bridge will be replaced with works of art, and will later be replaced with clear panels. — AFP