No More Lover's Padlocks at Famous Paris Bridge

Starting on Monday, French officials will be removing all love locks from Paris' famous Pont des Arts Bridge due to safety concerns.

It has been a tourist tradition for young couples who come to the capital to place a symbolic love lock on the Pont des Arts and throwing the key into the River Seine. BBC reports that due to the overwhelming number of locks, a bridge collapsed last year.

The removal was due to safety concerns and that "this phenomenon generates two problems: a lasting degradation of the heritage of Paris and also a risk to the safety of visitors, Parisians and tourists." according to a statement released by the city council on Friday.

Approximately 1 million padlocks, weighing 45 tonnes, are expected to be removed. This includes the ones in the Pont de l'Archeveche near the Notre Dame Cathedral.

According to Forbes, the bridge will be closed off for a week to remove the locks and then replaced temporarily with paintings by international artists. By fall, Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo announced that transparent panels will be permanently installed to hinder people from placing love locks.

The love lock craze started over a decade ago on some historical bridges. The phenomenon initiated a massive craze especially in the tourism industry where travel packages would allow tourists and some newly wedded couples on their honeymoon to stop nearby the bridge to hastily attach love locks and have a selfie. From purely romantic notions, love locking has extended to symbolic love for families and even friends.

Hidalgo once launched a campaign to opt for taking selfies instead of snapping love locks last year. But it was not enough to reduce visitors from love locking.

This does not mean however that any form of symbolic affection is barred from the capital. "We want Paris to remain the capital of love and romance," Bruno Julliard, Paris' deputy mayor told BBC. He adds that there will be other ways or activities for all sorts of romantics to express their love.

The Wall Street Journal reports that the love lock trend was traced to an Italian teen literature, "I Want You," which was published in 2006. It is a story about two sweethearts who attached a lock to Rome's Milvian Bridge and threw the key in the Tiber River to immortalize their affection.

According to the Mirror, the love lock craze is not exclusively in Paris. It has spread to the bridges in Brooklyn and Venice as well.