Paris installs glass panels on bridge amid fears of 'love lock' damage

A couple hang a love padlock on the steel bar of the Pont des Arts in Paris in this undated image. (AFP / Patrick Kovarik)

Paris may have found a solution to its love-lock problem: glass panels.

This week, the French city replaced sections of mesh fencing on the city's iconic footbridge, Pont des Arts, with two shatter-resistant and anti-glare glass panes, reported No Love Locks, a group that has been campaigning for an end to the practice of affixing ‘love locks’ onto the bridge.

The glass panes are treated with a special coating that prevents graffiti tagging. A third panel will also be installed.

If the pilot proves successful, love birds will no longer be able to pledge their undying love for each other via lock and key, as all 110 sections of the bridge’s metal fencing would be replaced.

This summer, in an attempt to discourage this distinctly tourist behaviour, the mayor’s office launched a campaign asking couples to instead take selfies of themselves on the bridge, and to post it to Twitter and Instagram.

“Our bridges can no longer withstand your gestures of love, set them free by declaring your love with #lovewithoutlocks,” read the city’s message.

The practice -- a recent phenomenon that spread around the world in the last decade -- came to a head in Paris this year when a section of metal fencing about 2.4 metres long collapsed under the weight of hundreds of padlocks, forcing authorities to close off the historic bridge for repairs.

It's been estimated that the bridge groans under the collective weight of about 45 tonnes of padlocks.

Critics, like the pair of American expats who launched the online petition No Love Locks, say the practice is an act of vandalism, while tourists believe it to be a harmless pledge of their love.