Paris - They are tokens by which sweethearts link their love for each other to the City of Love.
But the padlocks that adorn a bridge across the Seine are to be removed – because their weight is putting the 19th-century structure at risk.
On Monday workmen in Paris started removing the hundreds of “love locks” attached to the railings of the pedestrian Pont des Arts.
“It’s the end of the padlocks,” deputy Paris mayor Bruno Julliard said in a statement. “They spoil the aesthetics of the bridge, are structurally bad for it and can cause accidents,” he added, noting that at least one section of railing had already collapsed.
The existing railings will initially be replaced with panels covered in street art and later this year by plexiglass.
Daily Mail