‘Love locks’ partially collapse famous Paris bridge

In the 100^th episode of Parks and Recreation, Leslie and Ben made their way to Paris' Pont des Arts bridge like so many other lovers before them to memorialize their love with a lock. Someone stole it back in February, and now, it seems, the Pont des Arts bridge is collapsing under the weight of all the lock love.

Locking a padlock to the famous footbridge has been a tradition for lovebirds since around 2008, the idea being to forever memorialize your love with the symbol of the unmovable lock. Cute, but this week the sentiment collapsed a 2.4-meter section of the bridge railing.

As per the Agency France-Presse:

"The bridge was immediately evacuated and closed," local police told AFP. 

An architect and local officials rushed to the site and a barrier put in place to stop further access. Police said the bridge would be re-opened by Monday.

Activists had been asking visitors to the cease the practice since it started, worried that this very thing would happen, along with the aesthetic ills. In fact, Paris had been worried about a collapse since 2010, saying that the bridge had "become a victim of the lovebirds who wish to solemnize their enduring love."

So, with that, it appears that it was nice while it lasted, folks. In the future, maybe just stick to good old-fashioned love notes.

[Gawker]