The Travel Professor
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Tuesday, October 22, 2013

Love problems in Paris?



Love is threatening to destroy Paris, Forbes reported yesterday. What started as a heartfelt symbol of amour toujours has gotten out of hand and is putting many of the City of Love's sites at risk. It started in 2008 with two lovers who engraved their names on a lock, closed it over a bridge railing and threw the key into the Seine as a symbol of their undying love. 

The idea spread among tourists and locals, leaving the bridges of Paris covered with thousands of locks of all shapes and sizes and colors, warping the metal on their protective railings and threatening disaster. 

The Paris Council worries, for example, that the railings on the Pont des Arts will crumble under the weight and crash into the river, sending lovers tumbling, along with the heavy metal grates, onto the tourist boats on the river below. 

For now, Paris authorities are monitoring the situation, but not banning the love locks. Still, the love that is today eternal may soon become ephemeral. The mayor has proposed removing all the locks every six months "to make room for new lovers."