LE STYLE
Love edition 09 www.lestyle.org
Love locks in Paris
LOCATION: Pont des Arts PHOTOGRAPHY: Terry Check
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LE STYLE
LOVE LOCKS No better place for lovers than Paris in the spring Whether you are Parisian or just visiting Paris, couples in love are found strolling along the Pont des Arts. Spanning the Seine River from the Rive Gauche (Left Bank) to the Louvre museum, this landmark bridge is better known for its countless “cadenas d’amour”, love padlocks, than its architectural beauty as a nine-arch pedestrian bridge landscaped with a suspended garden above the river. For the past fifteen years, lovers, both young and old, have vowed their undying love by engraving a message on a padlock, locking the padlock onto the bridge and then tossing the keys into the river. The “love lock” phenomena is so popular in Paris that the Passerelle Leopold-Sedar-Senghor and the Pont de l’Archeveche bridges continuously display these love tokens. Not everyone loves the love locks. In Paris, the Mayor of the city’s 6th arrondissement, JeanPierre, mentioned to the press, “Since this walkway overlooks the Seine, and there are a lot of tourist boats that pass under it, any
relatively heavy object falling from a certain height could cause a passenger an injury, or even a fatal blow”. Presently, the local authorities inspect the bridge periodically, and remove any warped or frayed grill sections (about 1 x 2 m) laden with padlocks before any grill sections pull away from the bridge and fall into the river, possibly striking ferry passengers. Many Persians do not share the “amour” of the padlocks, completely removed in 2010 by authorities, only to return to the “City of Love”. Paris is not the only city locked in love. This tradition is evident in hundreds of cities worldwide, such as several cities along the Great Wall of China, on the Ponte Milvio in Rome, Italy; along the Luzhkov Bridge in Moscow, Russia and of course throughout the city of Lovelock, Nevada, USA. Wherever lovers gather, lock locks are usually nearby. If you find yourself in Paris and “in love” … love so strong that it hurts, then purchase a padlock, have it engraved with a passionate message, lock it to the bridge and throw away the key. But, don’t forget to throw away both keys! By Terry Check