PARIS (AP) — Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo took a dip in the Sena riverfulfilling a promise to prove the long-polluted waterway was clean enough to host swimming competitions during the 2024 Olympic Games, as well as part of the opening ceremony, Now there are only nine days left.
Daily water quality testing in early June indicated unsafe levels of E. coli bacteria, followed by recent improvements.
Dressed in a wetsuit and goggles, Hidalgo took the plunge into the river near the imposing City Hall, her office and Notre Dame Cathedral. Paris 2024 boss Tony Estanguet and the top government official for the Paris region, Marc Guillaume, accompanied her, along with swimmers from local swimming clubs.
“The Seine is exquisite,” Hidalgo said from the water. After getting out, he continued to praise it: “The water is very, very good. A little cool, but not too bad.” He also said that today was “a dream” and a “testimony that we have accomplished a lot of work,” referring to the city’s “swimming plan” that was launched in 2015.
AP correspondent Charles de Ledesma reports that the mayor of Paris is swimming in the Seine amid concerns about water quality ahead of the Paris Olympics.
They swam downriver for about 100 meters, alternating between crawl and breaststroke.
“After twenty years of practising sports on the river, I find it admirable that we are trying to clean it up,” said Estanguet, who has three Olympic gold medals in canoeing.
It is part of a broader effort to showcase the improved cleanliness of the river ahead of the Summer Games that begin on July 26 with A sumptuous outdoor ceremony which includes a parade of athletes on boats along the Seine.
Swimming in the Seine has been banned for more than a century. Since 2015, organizers have invested $1.5 billion to prepare the Seine for the Olympics and ensure that Parisians have a cleaner river after the Games. The plan included building a giant underground water storage basin in the center of Paris, renovating sewage infrastructure and modernizing wastewater treatment plants.
Hidalgo’s swimming event, originally scheduled for June, was postponed due to early parliamentary elections in France. On the initial date, the hashtag “jechiedanslaSeine” (“I’m pooping in the Seine”) was trending on social media, as some threatened to protest the Olympics by defecating upstream.
That did not discourage Hidalgo, who on Wednesday carefully entered the river using a ladder in an artificial pond prepared for the event. Seven security boats were deployed for the occasion.
The upper banks were crowded with curious spectators.
“I wouldn’t have missed it for the world,” said Lucie Coquereau, who woke up early to get the best view of Hidalgo from the Pont de Sully bridge that oversees the swimming site.
Enzo Gallet, a competitive swimmer who took part in France’s national open water championships, was among the athletes invited to test the Seine alongside the mayor of Paris.
The 23-year-old swam just a few metres away from Hidalgo. “His crawl was pretty good,” she said upon exiting the water. “It’s very special to be among those who swam in the centre of Paris for the first time in a long, long time.”
After the officers left the banks of the Seine, many bathers were still in the water, some playing ball and others practicing their jumps from the artificial pond, all in a very festive atmosphere.
Other politicians have promised to clean up the Seine. Jacques Chirac, the former French president, made a similar promise in 1988 when he was mayor of Paris, but it was never fulfilled.
Hidalgo followed in the footsteps of the French Minister of Sports Amélie Oudéa-Castérawho swam in the Seine on Saturday in a full-body suit.
Concerns about the Seine River’s flow and pollution levels persist, prompting the Eau de Paris monitoring group to conduct daily water quality tests. Results in early June indicated dangerous levels of E. coli bacteria, followed by recent improvements.
The Seine will host several open water swimming events during the Games, including marathon swimming at the Olympic Games and the swimming stages of the Olympic and Paralympic triathlons.
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Barbara Surk in Nice, France, contributed to this report.
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