Love locks weighing as much as 20 elephants — Paris’s Pont des Arts is barely holding up

▲ “Heavy” love locks that the Pont des Arts can no longer support. (Photo / Screenshot fromexpo-paris.fr)

Reported by the Tourism Center / Comprehensive report

In the hope of making love last forever, when you walk across Paris’s Pont des Arts, do you also want to securely lock your love in this romantic city and then toss the key into the Seine? This act has been repeated countless times, but the heavy love locks clinging to the bridge are making the historic Pont des Arts increasingly unable to bear the load.

▲ Night view of the Pont des Arts — a historical landmark that needs everyone’s protection. (Photo / Screenshot from fr.wikipedia)

This trend of locking love locks on bridges has prompted Parisians to launch a campaign to protect historical monuments, hoping to put an end to the practice of attaching locks to the Pont des Arts and officially banning the act. No Love LocksThe founders, Lisa Anselmo and Lisa Taylor Huff, stated that the lock-hanging has endangered historic landmarks and poses a significant safety risk. Although it is a modern way for people to express love, seeing such destruction of historical architecture is deeply heartbreaking. The locks on the Pont des Arts should not be seen as a guarantee that love will last.

The Pont des Arts was built in the early 19th century during the Napoleonic era and was damaged by a ship collision in 1979. Without government action to reduce the weight, this historic bridge may not hold up much longer.There are currently 700,000 locks on the bridge, weighing an estimated total of 93 metric tons — equivalent to 20 elephants standing on an ancient bridge.Currently, No Love Locksthe petition has gathered signatures from 2,200 people. After all, one lock might represent the poetry of beautiful love, but thousands upon thousands of locks present a global conundrum.

▲ The “heavy” love shackles have given the Paris government a major headache, and they are also urging the public to use digital love locks instead. (Photo / Screenshot from fr.wikipedia)