“Love-locks” on the Pont des Arts
6th arrondissement
Paris, July 2014
“The French capital has had a definitive falling out with the estimated 1m “love-locks” that it says are threatening some of the city’s most historic monuments. On Monday, workers armed with bolt cutters closed off the celebrated Pont des Arts over the Seine, where a railing collapsed last year under the weight of so many locks, and began breaking hearts around the world. Parisian officials have had a turbulent relationship with the trend since it hit Paris in 2008. When the first dewy-eyed couples began declaring their undying love by writing their initials or names on a padlock, attaching it to a monument and throwing the keys into the River Seine, it seemed relatively harmless. Since then, however, the locks have grown like metal barnacles over bridge railings, palisades, and parapets. Some have even been spotted on the Eiffel Tower.” (Pont des Arts love locks removed after Parisians lose affection for eyesore, The Guardian)
See also: Cadenas d'amour - Love Padlocks - Ksusha and Kolia - Pont de l'Archevêché - Ponte Milvio
so lovable...
ReplyDeleteIt does seem out of hand but was a sweet idea when it began.
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