Pont des Arts, the End of Love Locks

Until last year, the Pont des Arts was known as the "lock bridge." Its sides were crowded with these objects that, according to recent tradition, symbolize the eternal love of couples who attach them to the bridge.

For safety reasons (both for the bridge and for the boats passing underneath), the locks were removed, and it has returned to being (almost) what it once was.

We visited this week to ask tourists (and Parisians) what they thought about the change. Were they disappointed? Did they think the bridge was more beautiful before? And now?

But the lock issue is a cat-and-mouse game between authorities and tourists. The Pont des Arts was cleaned (soon few will remember that there were ever locks on it) but the movement has migrated to the next bridge, the Pont Neuf. The railing around the equestrian statue of Henri IV, at the Île de la Cité, is already taken over by love locks.

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