Old Port officials are being forced to cut off locks meant to symbolize everlasting love that couples have been leaving on bridges.

“Yes, it’s a trend for the past few years,” said Old Port spokesperson Jimmy Laforge. “People love to come to the Old Port because it’s romantic and it’s a beautiful place.”

The love-locks are modelled on those found in Paris, where last spring as many as one million locks were fastened to the Ponst-des-Arts. Last May, Paris city officials had to remove part of the fence so they could remove all the locks after some of the guardrails buckled under the weight.

While the locks are being removed, Laforge did have another suggestion that could be much more lucrative for disappointed lovebirds.

“Instead of putting a lock, I was suggesting maybe they can take a selfie and put it on the web using the hashtag #oldportmtl and they will have a chance to win a cruise,” he said.