Paris Will Sell Some of Those Famous ‘Love Locks’ to Raise Money for Refugees

Paris is known as the ‘City of Love,’ and a new move by authorities in the French capital is aiming to spread that love a little further.

Traditionally, tourists have attached padlocks symbolizing love to the bridges connecting the city across the Seine. Work to remove the locks from both the Pont des Arts and the Pont de l’Archevêché began a year and a half ago due to the strain the locks were putting on the bridges, resulting in more than 65 tons of scrap metal and around a million locks.

Last week, the city’s environment chief Bruno Julliard announced that 10 tons worth of the locks would be available for sale to the public, the proceeds of which will go toward helping refugees, according to The Local. The sales could bring in as much as $107,000 (or €100,000), The Local reports.

“Members of the public can buy five or ten locks, or even clusters of them, all at an affordable price,” Julliard told reporters last week, according to The Local. “All of the proceeds will be given to to those who work in support and in solidarity of the refugees in Paris.” Although further details have not yet been confirmed, the sale is anticipated to take place early next year, according to The Local. Lisa Anselmo, from the campaign group No Love Locks, welcomed the decision, telling The Local, “It’s an inspired idea, and a much better way to show love – the universal kind of love – especially at a time when so many are turning their backs on the refugees of the world.”

[The Local]