Le poids de l'Amour ...

10 Juin 2014 , Rédigé par Laurence B Publié dans #Société

Oh l'amour: Paris bridge* rail* collapses* under weight* of too much love

Pont des Arts, where couples attach 'love locks' as a sign of their devotion, evacuated after part of railing breaks loose

A bridge = un pont
A rail = un garde-fou, une balustrade
To collapse = s’effondrer
Weight = le poids
A lock = un cadenas, une serrure, un antivol
To break loose = rompre, lâcher, céder

The path* of true love for tourists in Paris has often involved* a stroll* across the Pont des Arts and the attachment of a "love lock" to its railings. The key* is then thrown* into the river Seine.
A path = un chemin
To involve = impliquer
A stroll = une promenade
A key = une clé
To throw – I threw – thrown = jeter

But the celebrated bridge had to be evacuated at the weekend after part of the railing collapsed under the weight of love locks attached to it. Police ordered visitors to leave and closed the footbridge* after a 2.4-metre section of railing broke loose.
A footbridge = une passerelle

Since the phenomenon began in 2008 it has become a headache* for city officials. Not only is the full* 150-metre Pont des Arts covered in* locks, but visiting lovebirds* have targeted* other bridges in the French capital. Forty locks are reported to have been removed* from the Eiffel tower.
A headache = un casse-tête, un mal de tête
Full = entier
To be covered in = être recouvert de
Lovebirds = les tourtereaux, les amoureux
To target = prendre our cible
To remove = enlever

Paris authorities cannot say they were not warned*. In 2010 concerns* were expressed about the locks, which disappeared from the bridge one night but were later found to have been removed by an art student who had turned them into a sculpture.
To warn = avertir, prévenir
A concern = une inquiétude

Protesters who say the thousands of locks are an eyesore* and vandalism have long warned they are also a risk to the iron* bridge, which is a listed monument, and launched* a petition to have them removed. There are also campaigns on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
An eyesore = hideux, qui choque la vue
Iron = fer
To launch = lancer

In an open letter to the Paris mayor, Anne Hidalgo, the petition organisers complained* that the locks were "like a plague* on our city's historic bridges and sites". "This is most apparent on the Pont des Arts, which has been terribly degraded, both visually and structurally In a few short years, the heart* of Paris has been made ugly*, robbing* Parisians of quality of life and the ability* to safely enjoy their own public spaces along the Seine, which has itself been polluted by thousands of discarded* keys.
To complain = se plaindre
A plague = la peste, une épidémie, un fléau, une plaie
The heart = le cœur
Ugly = laid
To rob someone of = voler qqchose à qq’1
The ability = la capacité
To discard = se débarasser de, jeter, abandonner

"The time has come to enact a ban* on 'love locks' in order to* return our bridges to their original beauty and purpose*," they wrote. On its website, the Paris authorities write: "It is wonderful to see such a vast amount of devoted couples; however* the ritual is posing several problems due to* the weight of the thousands of small steel* padlocks." It asks: "Is the Passerelle des Arts to become a victim of the lovebirds who wish* to solemnise their enduring love?"
To enact a ban = promulguer une interdiction
In order to = afin de
A purpose = but, objet, intention
However = cependant
Due to = à cause de
Steel = acier
A padlock = un cadenas, un antivol
To wish = souhaiter

Kim Willsher in Paris
The Guardian, Monday 9 June 2014