PARISIANS can’t remember when it all began. At first, the appearance of
the locks was nearly imperceptible. Soon, though, they felt like a
statement. On some of the city’s most iconic bridges, thousands of
visitors left small padlocks, neatly attached to the metal railings.

Once discreet, doing their deed at night, visitors soon acted in broad
daylight, in pairs, photographing each other in front of their locks,
and videotaping the throwing of the keys into the Seine. The Paris town
hall expressed concern: what about the architectural integrity of the
Parisian landscape? One night about two years ago, someone cut through
the wires and removed all the locks on one of the bridges. But in just a
few months, locks of all sizes and colors reappeared, more conspicuous than ever.        

The public displays of affection have unchained loathing among
coldhearted locals. Some gripe that the locks are no better than
graffiti, defacing the city’s landmarks. Rust and pollution are
concerns, too. Think of the keys littered on the bottom of the Seine
“with cars and cadavers,” says
Sylvain Louradour,
a baby sitter who lives near the Pont des Arts.

True, the locks are causing major damage to Paris’ bridges that
are literally cripping under the weight of all our love. The thousands
of padlocks that coat the bridge have authorities saying that there is
risk of a “fatal accident.” According to Forbes:
“The situation in Paris has become more critical, though, and according
to local newspapers, the Paris Council worries that so many padlocks
have been snapped on the Pont des Arts that the railings risk crumbling
under the weight and crashing into the river. The scenario some of them
fear is not only of people tumbling into the river along with the
railings but of the heavy metal enclosures landing on passengers on the
many tourist boats that ply the river under the bridge.”