Tourists have been evacuated from one of the most iconic bridges in Paris after it began to crumble under the weight of thousands of 'love locks'.
A chunk of the Pont des Arts bridge fell away on Sunday night and the police were called to seal off the area which remains closed today.
It is a popular custom for tourists to secure a padlock to the bridge branded with their names as a romantic gesture, but the weight of the locks is damaging the metal bridge, which was originally completed in 1804 but rebuilt in the 1980s following damage n the two World Wars.
Popular practice: Tourists fix padlocks to the Ponts des Arts to seal their love before throwing keys in the river
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Popular practice: Tourists fix padlocks to the Ponts des Arts to seal their love before throwing keys in the river
A local French police spokesperson said: 'A metal grill had fallen inwards, rather than into the river.
'If it had landed on a passing boat, the results could have been disastrous. As it happened, nobody was injured.
'The bridge was evacuated, and will now be closed until Monday morning at the earliest.'
If follows growing calls for the padlocks - which also blight other major European cities including London - to be banned.
It has become common practice for visitors to buy a padlock, attach it to a bridge, and then throw the key into the river, in Paris's case the Seine.
The practice has been encouraged by American celebrities including Kim Kardashian and Kanye West, who spent a lot of time dating in Paris before their wedding in Italy last month.
Read more:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/article-2652684/Paris-Pont-des-Arts-bridge-collapses-weight-thousands-love-locks-left-tourists-prompting-calls-practice-banned.html
Wonder if our lock is still there. We each wear one of the keys on a chain.
