Paris mayor takes a dip in the Seine to show how clean the river is ahead of the Olympics

PARIS (AP) — After months of anticipation, Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo took a dip in long-polluted waters Seine River On Wednesday, a promise was fulfilled to show that the river is clean enough to host open swimming competitions 2024 olympics – And the opening ceremony on the river is nine days away.

Hidalgo, wearing a wetsuit and goggles, fell into the river near the imposing City Hall, her office and Notre Dame Cathedral. Paris 2024 chief Tony Estanguet and the Paris region’s top government official, Marc Guillaume, joined him, along with swimmers from local swim clubs.

“The view is perfect,” Hidalgo said from the water. After coming out, he continued to rave, “The water is very, very nice. A little better, but not so bad.” He also said today was “a dream” and a “testimony that we have achieved a lot of work,” referencing the city’s “swimming plan” launched in 2015. .

They swam in the river for about 100 metres, switching between crawl and breaststroke.

“After twenty years of playing sport in the river, I find it commendable that we are trying to clean it up,” said Estanguet, who has won three Olympic gold medals in canoeing.

It is part of a broader effort to demonstrate improved cleaning of the river ahead of the Summer Games, which begin on July 26. A grand open air ceremony It involves a parade of athletes on boats on the Seine. Daily water quality tests in early June indicated unsafe levels of E. coli bacteria, followed by recent improvements.

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 a clean river for Parisians after the Games. The plan included the construction of a vast underground water storage basin in central Paris, renovating the sewer infrastructure and upgrading waste water treatment plants.

Originally planned for June, Hidalgo’s swim was postponed due to snap parliamentary elections in France. On the initial date, the hashtag “Jechiedanslassen” (“I’m defecating in the Seine”) was trending on social media as some people threatened to protest the Olympics by defecating upstream.

This did not affect Hidalgo, who carefully entered the river on Wednesday using a ladder on an artificial pond built for the event. Seven security boats were deployed on the occasion.

They swam in the river for about 100 metres, switching between crawl and breaststroke.

The upper banks were crowded with curious spectators.

“I wouldn’t have missed it for anything in the world,” said Lucie Cochereau, who got up early to get the best view of Hidalgo from the Pont de Sully bridge that oversees the swimming spot.

Enzo Gallet, a competitive swimmer who has competed in France’s national open-water championships, was one of the athletes invited to test the Seine with the Paris mayor.

The 23-year-old man swam just meters away from Hidalgo. “His reptilian form was very cool,” he said as he emerged from the water. “It’s very special to be among people who swam through the middle of Paris for the first time in a long time.”

After the authorities had left the Seine River bank, many swimmers were still in the water, some playing catch with a ball and others practicing diving from the artificial pond – all in a very festive mood.

Other politicians have promised to clean up the scene. Former French President Jacques Chirac made a similar pledge when he was mayor of Paris in 1988, but it was never fulfilled.

Hidalgo followed in the footsteps of France’s sports minister Amelie Audia-CasteraWho swam in the scene wearing a full-body suit on Saturday.

Concerns remain over the flow and pollution levels of the Seine, prompting daily water quality testing by the monitoring group Eau de Paris. Results in early June indicated unsafe 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 swimming stages of Olympic and Paralympic triathlons.

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Barbara Surk in Nice, France, contributed to this report

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