‘Locks of love’ bridge in Paris evacuated after railing collapse 愛之鎖太沉重 巴黎古橋難承受

“Locks of love” attached to a fence of the Pont des Arts bridge over the River Seine are pictured in Paris, France on June 9.六月九日攝於法國巴黎扣在塞納河藝術橋圍欄的「愛情鎖」

Sometimes too much love can be a bad thing, as Paris discovered on June 8 when thousands of “locks of love” attached to a footbridge caused part of the railing to collapse, forcing an evacuation.

Thousands of lovers from across the world visit the Pont des Arts every year and seal their love by attaching a lock carrying their names to its railing and throwing the key in the Seine.

Police were forced to hurriedly usher visitors off the footbridge in central Paris early evening on June 8 after 2.4m of railing collapsed under the weight of the collected tokens of affection.

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

An architect and local officials rushed to the site and a barrier was put in place to stop further access. Police said the bridge would be re-opened on June 9.

The Pont des Arts crosses the French capital’s River Seine just in front of the Louvre museum and is known the world over for its “locks of love.”

The phenomenon has become something of a headache for officials in the City of Light, who would prefer something that poses fewer problems of security and aesthetics.

Two young Americans living in Paris have gathered thousands of signatures for a petition they launched in March calling for the locks to be removed, saying they are eyesores and cause damage to the bridges.

Today, the full 150m length of the footbridge is covered in the locks, and the practice has spread to other bridges around the capital.

Forty locks were also recently removed from the Eiffel Tower.

(AFP)

愛太多有時不見得是件好事，就好比成千上萬個扣在巴黎一座人行橋上的「愛情鎖」，致使該座橋部分圍欄於六月八日發生坍塌的意外。

每年有成千上萬對來自世界各地的情侶造訪這座藝術橋，並在圍欄掛上寫有雙方名字的掛鎖，再把鑰匙丟入塞納河中，以象徵牢牢鎖住的愛情。

因戀人集中在橋上示愛的重量實在太重，導致二點四公尺的圍欄於六月八日接近傍晚時刻倒塌，警察在不得已情況下，隨即急忙疏散遊客離開這座位於巴黎市中心的人行橋。

當地警方向法新社表示：「該橋立刻撤空並關閉。」

一位建築師與地方官員趕赴現場，並設有路障以防有人通行。警方表示，該橋於六月九日重新開放。

這座位於羅浮宮前、橫跨法國首都塞納河的藝術橋，以其橋上「愛情鎖」聞名全球。

這個鎖橋現象讓「光之城」（巴黎的暱稱）官員感到些許頭大，他們偏好其他較不影響安全也較不破壞觀瞻的示愛方式。

兩位住在巴黎的美國人認為這些鎖頭不僅有礙觀瞻還危害橋樑，三月即提出移除「愛情鎖」請願書，目前已募集到成千上萬個連署。

今天這座總長有一百五十公尺的人行橋已掛滿了鎖頭，而類似行為也已蔓延到首都內的其他橋樑。

最近有四十個鎖頭才自巴黎鐵塔移除。