\magnification=1200 \hsize=4in \overfullrule=0pt \input amssym %\def\frac#1 #2 {{#1\over #2}} \def\emph#1{{\it #1}} \def\em{\it} \nopagenumbers \noindent % % {\bf Asaf Shapira and Raphael Yuster} % % \medskip \noindent % % {\bf Multigraphs (Only) Satisfy a Weak Triangle Removal Lemma} % % \vskip 5mm \noindent % % % % The triangle removal lemma states that a simple graph with $o(n^3)$ triangles can be made triangle-free by removing $o(n^2)$ edges. It is natural to ask if this widely used result can be extended to multi-graphs. In this short paper we rule out the possibility of such an extension by showing that there are multi-graphs with only $n^{2+o(1)}$ triangles that are still far from being triangle-free. On the other hand, we show that for some slowly growing function $g(n)=\omega(1)$, if a multi-graph has only $g(n)n^2$ triangles then it must be close to being triangle-free. The proof relies on variants of the Ruzsa-Szemer\'edi theorem. \bye .