Paris Mayor Swims in Seine to Show It's Ready for Olympics
Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo took a dip in the Seine River on July 17, fulfilling a promise to show that the long-polluted waterway was clean enough to host swimming competitions during the 2024 Olympics.
Wearing a wetsuit and goggles, Hidalgo plunged into the river near City Hall, her office, and the Notre Dame Cathedral. Paris 2024 chief Tony Estanguet and the top government official for the Paris region, Marc Guillaume, joined her, along with swimmers from local swimming clubs. They swam down the river for about 100 meters.
"The Seine is exquisite," said Hidalgo from the water. After emerging, she continued, "The water is very, very good. A little cool, but not so bad." She also said today was a "testimony that we have achieved a lot of work," referencing the city's "swimming plan" that was launched in 2015.
The swim was meant to showcase the river's improved cleanliness ahead of the Summer Games which start on July 26 with an open-air ceremony that includes a parade of boats on the Seine.
Swimming in the Seine has been banned for over a century. Since 2015, organizers have invested $1.5 billion to prepare the Seine for the Olympics and to ensure a cleaner river after the Games.
After the officials had left the Seine river banks, many swimmers were still in the water, some playing catch with a ball and others practicing their dives from a floating platform.
Hidalgo was following in the footsteps of French Sports Minister Amélie Oudéa-Castéra, who also swam in the Seine on July 13.
Concerns over the Seine's pollution levels have persisted, prompting daily water quality tests. Results in early June indicated unsafe levels of E. coli bacteria, but were 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 legs of the Olympic and Paralympic triathlons.
