Paris begins removing ‘love locks’ from bridges

HEAR that? It’s the sound of thousands of hearts breaking in the City of Love, as council workers begin dismantling one of Paris’s favourite attractions.

The huge change coming to Paris

PARIS, known worldwide as the city of romance, has begun the heartbreaking process of removing tens of thousands of “love locks”, padlocks chained to the city’s bridges by love-struck couples.

Yellow-vested officials were out early on Monday morning on the city’s iconic Pont des Arts, wielding cutting equipment to free the padlocks while a handful of curious tourists looked on.

Moving on ... yellow-vested officials were out early on Monday morning on the city’s iconic Pont des Arts, cutting off the padlocks. Picture: AFP/Stephane De Sakutin

Removal ... a worker drags away a railing with thousands of lovelocks attached to it. Picture: AFP/Stephane De Sakutin

End of an era ... people take photographs as workers remove panels bearing love padlocks attached on the railings of the Pont des Arts bridge. Picture: AFP/Stephane De Sakutin

Loved-up visitors from around the world have for years written their name on padlocks to symbolise their passion, then tossed the key into the River Seine so that nothing could ever break the bond.

Or at least, that’s what they thought.

What is for couples a harmless act of passion is for city authorities a potentially dangerous headache.

Sad face selfie at Paris' Pont Des Artes as these sisters find out their love lock will be cut off. Why @TODAYshow pic.twitter.com/3QuhUCqoWT

— Katy Tur (@KatyTurNBC) June 1, 2015

Glad I got to put a lock on the love bridge in Paris before they take them all off🔓 #M+Dad pic.twitter.com/051xSTZog9

— EMILY (@emily62245411) June 1, 2015

So right after I put my lock on the love lock bridge in Paris, the bridge is getting taken down. That honestly sums up my love life

— HAL DET ☪ (@haldet13) May 31, 2015

Last year police hurriedly ushered tourists off the Pont des Arts when a section of the footbridge collapsed under the weight of the locks covering the 155-metre-long bridge.

Plastic panels were put up in places to deter lovebirds and authorities launched a drive to get tourists to upload selfies instead of attaching a lock.

Kendall Jenner and Gigi Hadid Have a 'Love Lock' in Paris http://t.co/RRQdz1kg1s pic.twitter.com/u7CVI7F418

— Harper's Bazaar (@harpersbazaarus) May 27, 2015

But nothing stands in the way of true love, and tourists have kept piling the locks on the bridge and elsewhere, forcing authorities to take drastic measures.

“We will remove nearly one million padlocks, or 45 tonnes,” said city official Bruno Julliard, criticising the “ugliness” of the locks on some of Paris’s most beautiful bridges.

Just married ... newlyweds share a special moment on the Pont des Arts in Paris, France, on April 16, 2014. Picture: AP Photo/Remy de la Mauviniere

Lovestruck ... a woman a locks a padlock on the ‘Pont Notre Dame’ on May 29, 2015. Picture: AFP/Charly Triballeau

While the trend of attaching locks to the Pont des Arts began in 2008, the problem is not unique to Paris.

It is unclear where the idea of using the lock ritual to symbolise love originated, but the padlocks bearing lovers’ initials have spread from European capitals to as far as Marrakech and China.