FRANCE-TOURISM-FEATURE

A photo taken on September 23, 2014 in Paris shows the Pont des Arts with its railings covered by padlocks. Paris officials have put up plastic panels on an iconic pedestrian bridge spanning the Seine river in front of the Louvre in an attempt to stop lovers sealing their passion with padlocks attached to the bridge. Just over the busy summer period, romantic tourists to the world's most visited city attached more than 700,000 love lock on several Paris bridges, said City Hall authorities. "On the Pont des Arts alone, 15 grills have had to be removed for safety reasons. Each of these panels were carrying nearly 500 kilogrammes, more than four times the maximum weight," city hall said. AFP PHOTO / THOMAS SAMSON (Photo by THOMAS SAMSON / AFP) (Photo by THOMAS SAMSON/AFP via Getty Images)