So you'll love me forever....

A sweet tradition, or a racket by the padlock companies? The romantic will say the first, the cynic will say it's a racket.

At several overpasses over the Seine River, the bridges have metal fencing along the walkway.  There are thousands of padlocks attached to these fences.  Here is what it's all about...

When you and your sweetie are in Paris, you are supposed to go buy a padlock (you can't bring one with you, you must buy it in Paris, hence the racket) and together lock it to the bridge fence.  They you throw the key into the river together.  The legend is that the lock will stay there forever, since the key is now lost. And because the lock cannot be opened, you will be together forever.  

However, as the tour guide pointed out, the public works people have to come through every so often and cut all the locks off, or else the bridges would fall down from all the extra weight.  So, does that mean when they cut the lock off, your relationship is damaged as well?  I guess you can pick the pieces of the legend you want to have meaning based on how you feel about it.