The locks will begin to be definitively removed from the bridge as of Monday, a statement from Paris Town Hall said this week.
The phenomenon of tourists “locking their love to the bridge” has left the Pont des Arts in a state of disrepair and left many in Paris frustrated at the Town Hall's seeming unwillingness to tackle the issue.
But Paris and its mayor Anne Hidalgo have finally decided to act.
“Hundreds of thousands of locks are attached to certain bridges around Paris,” said a statement from the Town Hall.
“This phenomenon generates two problems: a lasting degradation of the heritage of Paris and also a risk to the safety of visitors, Parisians and tourists,” the statement read.
The Pont des Arts will have to be closed for a week in July so the locks can be removed.
The glass panels were trialed recently on the Pont des Arts and the Pont de l'Archeveché and were deemed a success as they were more resistant to graffiti than the ugly wooden panels that now adorn the bridge.
On the other hand the Town Hall's attempt last year to encourage tourists to take selfies and post them online rather than buy a padlock was judged a failure.
Those behind the No Love Locks campaign are however still urging Paris to get tough and ban the locks out right and hand out fines to those caught “vandalising” the bridges.
Finally! Let tourists trash their own towns. Paris finally set to dump scourge of love locks http://t.co/nTdTft5IPJ via @TheLocalFrance
— ChrisInParis (@ChrisInParis) May 29, 2015
Yay! No more tacky locks ruining beautiful Paris bridges. http://t.co/4uhNonFtxh via @TheLocalFrance
— Naomi (@Naomi_theFirsht) May 29, 2015
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