‘Love lock’ grill on Paris footbridge collapses
Print Edition
THE Pont des Arts footbridge over the Seine in central Paris was closed for a few hours yesterday after a metal grill laden with padlocks left by amorous couples collapsed onto the walkway.
Padlocks began appearing on bridges in Paris and other European cities more than five years ago left by people seeking to symbolise their enduring love — often inscribed with couples’ names. Lovers typically throw the keys into the river.
Nobody was hurt by the “love lock” incident, a city official told French media yesterday, adding that the bridge had reopened and the two grills across a 2.4 meter stretch of the bridge replaced temporarily by wooden panels.
But in a tweet posted on the city’s official website, Bruno Juillard, the city’s elected head of cultural affairs, said it “confirms that our desire to find an alternative to these locks is a real necessity”.
The railings of several Paris bridges, including the central Pont des Arts which has a commanding view of the Ile de la Cite from the west, have since all but disappeared behind festoons of padlocks.
Paris authorities, who inspect and replace panels twisted or made unsafe by the weight of the locks, have faced calls to clamp down on the practice on aesthetic grounds. But they have been reluctant to take stiffer measures for fear of hurting the city’s tourist industry and its worldwide reputation as a city of love.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
