'Love locks' on the block in Paris charity auction

PARIS - Amorous couples, here's your chance to own a piece of the world's most romantic city: Paris is selling off the "love locks" that lovebirds attached to the city's bridges before officials cracked down on the practice.

For years tourists inscribed their initials on the locks and hooked them to the railings of bridges, most famously the Pont desArts near the Louvre, throwing the key into the Seine to express their undying devotion.

But the tradition turned into a menace - one section of the Pont des Arts collapsed under the weight of thousands of locks - as well as an eyesore for many residents.