Paris police remove iconic symbols of love

It's the end of an era for the "love locks" on a historic bridge in Paris. Some call the symbolic padlocks an eyesore and a safety hazard, and the government is starting to remove them, reports CBS News correspondent Mark Phillips.

To demonstrate their affection, couples would scratch their names on a padlock, attach it to a bridge and throw away the key. The symbolism is obvious -- and so is the weight. City officials say more than 700,000 locks have been attached to bridges over the past eight years, most to the Pont des Arts. It's a load the bridge was never designed to handle.

Sections of the railing were showing the strain -- perhaps like some of the relationships. So after years of trying to politely discourage the practice by putting up signs, the Parisian party poopers moved in Monday morning. The railings of the Pont des Arts are also being removed. They'll be replaced by plexiglass.

"I think that's awful," proclaimed one couple on the bridge.

Michelle and Matthew came to Paris over the weekend to try to get in under the wire.

"It's a great way to show that Paris is the city of love," Michelle said. "It's a symbol of that."

But the "love lock" thing was a mystery to some.

"We never even heard of the 'lock bridge,' it was my son (who) gave us this," said an Irish tourist, holding up the pad lock her son had given her for the trip. "I thought it was for our luggage!"

Paris being Paris, and tourists being tourists, visitors will no doubt find other ways to show their affection.

Some who came thought the city should have found another way to deal with the problem.

"Fix the bridge and keep the locks," suggested an American girl at the lovers' landmark.

The locks will be kept in a warehouse until somebody can figure out what to do with them. In the meantime, loving couples, never to be denied, have begun attaching locks to other bridges -- and to the Eiffel Tower.