https://feeds.thelocal.com/ Read the latest news and views from France in English en-us news@thelocal.com (TheLocal) webmaster@thelocal.com (TheLocal) TheLocal RSS Feed The iconic Pont des Arts in Paris might be free of "love locks" but tourists are finding a new way of leaving their mark on the bridge over the Seine. https://www.thelocal.fr/20171006/from-padlocks-to-graffiti-how-paris-tourists-leave-their-love-on-bridges Fri, 06 Oct 2017 15:47:19 +0200 from-padlocks-to-graffiti-how-paris-tourists-leave-their-love-on-bridges Amorous couples, here's your chance to own a piece of the world's most romantic city: Paris is selling off the "love locks" that lovebirds attached to the city's bridges before officials cracked down on the practice. https://www.thelocal.fr/20170503/love-locks-on-the-block-in-paris-charity-auction-buy Wed, 03 May 2017 19:13:06 +0200 love-locks-on-the-block-in-paris-charity-auction-buy Did Barack and Michelle Obama sneak onto the Pont des Arts during a 2009 trip to Paris and attach a love lock? A Parisian artist who found it believes so and he says all the evidence suggests it's really theirs. https://www.thelocal.fr/20170202/is-this-barack-and-michelle-obamas-love-lock-from-paris Thu, 02 Feb 2017 18:51:26 +0100 is-this-barack-and-michelle-obamas-love-lock-from-paris Authorities have announced plans to give refugee groups the proceeds from a huge sale of love locks that were removed from Paris bridges last year. https://www.thelocal.fr/20161205/could-these-old-paris-love-locks-raise-100000-for-refugees Mon, 05 Dec 2016 14:16:34 +0100 could-these-old-paris-love-locks-raise-100000-for-refugees Paris is having another go at urging tourists to stop locking their love to the city's bridges. https://www.thelocal.fr/20160803/paris-begins-new-campaign-against-the-love-lock Wed, 03 Aug 2016 10:46:40 +0200 paris-begins-new-campaign-against-the-love-lock A tour company offering "love lock tours" of the Paris bridges has spoken out after outraged internet users mobilized to try and shut the company. https://www.thelocal.fr/20160506/paris-love-lock-tour-group-we-dont-hang-any-locks Fri, 06 May 2016 12:42:03 +0200 paris-love-lock-tour-group-we-dont-hang-any-locks Tour companies charging tourists over €100 for love lock tours on Paris bridges (plus a glass of Champagne) have outraged the public, who have mobilized online to try and shut them down. https://www.thelocal.fr/20160505/anger-over-love-lock-tour-companies-in-paris Thu, 05 May 2016 11:08:42 +0200 anger-over-love-lock-tour-companies-in-paris Officials have attached new anti-love lock mechanisms to the Pont des Arts in Paris, making it even tougher to attach padlocks to the famous bridge. https://www.thelocal.fr/20160429/paris-makes-love-lock-bridge-even-more-love-lock-proof Fri, 29 Apr 2016 15:11:02 +0200 paris-makes-love-lock-bridge-even-more-love-lock-proof With Paris set to install glass panels on the Pont des Arts bridge to fight off the scourge of the love locks, an architect from the UK tells The Local he has come up with a much better solution. https://www.thelocal.fr/20150604/uk-architect-has-answer-to-love-lock-bridge Thu, 04 Jun 2015 11:57:26 +0200 uk-architect-has-answer-to-love-lock-bridge IN PICTURES: As around 1 million love locks are pulled down from the Pont des Arts bridge in Paris, artists have been employed to fill the gaps with paintings. But not all are impressed by what they've come up with. https://www.thelocal.fr/20150603/paris-love-locks-replaced-with-artwork Wed, 03 Jun 2015 14:32:03 +0200 paris-love-locks-replaced-with-artwork Paris, known worldwide as the city of romance, on Monday began the process of removing nearly one million "love-locks", padlocks chained to the city's bridges by love-struck couples. Many in the city say the "heart-breaking" move is long overdue. https://www.thelocal.fr/20150601/paris-begins-removal-of-a-million-love-locks Mon, 01 Jun 2015 19:03:25 +0200 paris-begins-removal-of-a-million-love-locks Whether or not you're a fan of love locks, you can't say there is anything romantic about the once-picturesque bridges that cross the River Seine in the heart of Paris, now covered in graffiti and in a state of disrepair. https://www.thelocal.fr/20150507/whatever-happened-to-pariss-beautiful-bridges Thu, 07 May 2015 19:25:25 +0200 whatever-happened-to-pariss-beautiful-bridges 'Love locks' have become such a problem in Paris the city has just installed panels intended to block couples from latching their passion to the town's infrastracture, leaving it straining under a dangerous load. https://www.thelocal.fr/20140919/love-locks-paris-danger-ban Fri, 19 Sep 2014 16:40:00 +0200 love-locks-paris-danger-ban Thousands of love-locks that adorn bridges in Paris have been removed due to the dangers posed to the public, the Town Hall announced this week, but authorities say they will not impose a ban on the romantic ritual. https://www.thelocal.fr/20140613/paris-town-hall-to-remove-love-locks Fri, 13 Jun 2014 11:44:00 +0200 paris-town-hall-to-remove-love-locks Sometimes too much love can be a bad thing as Paris discovered on Sunday when thousands of "locks of love" attached to a footbridge caused part of the railing to collapse, forcing an evacuation. https://www.thelocal.fr/20140609/locks-of-love-bridge-in-paris-evacuated-after-railing-collapse Mon, 09 Jun 2014 11:14:00 +0200 locks-of-love-bridge-in-paris-evacuated-after-railing-collapse For the first of our "Reader's Rants" series, in which we offer you a platform to air your views, we hear from two Americans who have fallen out of love with Paris's love locks, claiming they are a stain on the City of Light. Respond with your own rant below. https://www.thelocal.fr/20140310/paris-love-locks-have-to-go Mon, 10 Mar 2014 18:38:00 +0100 paris-love-locks-have-to-go They say you can't beat City Hall, but Paris authorities who once took a dim view of the thousands of "love locks" adorning the bridges of the Seine river have had a change of heart. https://www.thelocal.fr/20120815/paris-finally-falls-for-love-locks Wed, 15 Aug 2012 12:10:29 +0200 paris-finally-falls-for-love-locks