A rather recent, yet dear tradition to lovers who travel to Paris is about to be put to an end. Since 2008, lovebirds have flocked to the capital of love and romance, to engrave their names and place a lock on the Pont des Arts, a pedestrian bridge that crosses over the River Seine. This has come much to the chagrin of Parisian locals as complaints of aesthetic issues have been coming in for years. City officials have finally decided to put an end to it once and for all, and will be replacing the cluttered fence on the bridge with plexiglass panels. It was shown that the overwhelming number of locks are causing damage to the bridge, even causing parts of it to break off!
The number of locks removed amounted to 45 tonnes, and many have felt like it wasn’t fair to the countless lovers who hoped their declarations of love would last forever. Officials have urged the public not to despair, as the actions were necessary for the bridge and cultural reasons, and hope that perhaps this move will inspire other ways for couples to prove their passion. Even Canadian cities like Saskatoon are following suit, as around the world the love lock tradition has spread.
Oh well, guess we hopeless romantics will have to start being more creative!
