Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo took a dip in the Seine, fulfilling her promise to show that the long-polluted waterway is clean enough to host swimming events during the 2024 Olympic Games as well as part of the opening ceremony.
Daily water quality tests in early June showed health-threatening levels of E. coli bacteria, but there have been recent improvements.
Dressed in a wetsuit and diving goggles, Hidalgo threw herself into the river near the imposing town hall, her office and the Notre Dame Cathedral.
Tony Estanguet, head of Paris 2024, and Marc Guillaume, the highest government official in the Paris region, were present, along with swimmers from local swimming clubs.
“The Seine is lovely,” Hidalgo said from the water. When she resurfaced, she continued to rave: “The water is very, very good. A little cold, but not too bad.”
She also said the day was “a dream” and a “testament to the great accomplishments we have made,” citing the city’s “swimming plan” launched in 2015.
“After 20 years of sport on this river, I find it admirable that we are trying to clean it up,” said Estanguet, who has won three Olympic gold medals in canoeing.
Wednesday’s event is part of a broader effort to showcase the river’s improved cleanliness ahead of the Games, which begin on July 26 with an elaborate open-air ceremony that includes a parade of athletes on boats on the Seine.
Concerns about the flow and pollution of the Seine prompted the monitoring group Eau de Paris to conduct daily water quality tests. Results in early June showed worrying levels of E. coli bacteria, but there have been recent improvements.
During the Games, the Seine will host several open water swimming events, including the Olympic marathon swimming and the swimming legs of the Olympic and Paralympic triathlons.