France
Paris mayor wants to jump into the Seine in July
Anne Hidalgo (front) paddles on the Seine. photo
© Martin Bureau/POOL AFP/AP/dpa
Parisians have been wanting to swim in the Seine again for a long time. After investing in water quality, the mayor wants to be the first to jump into the river in July.
Swimming in the Seine has been popular for over 100 years Paris banned, now Mayor Anne Hidalgo has announced that she will personally jump into the river in July. Swimming competitions are scheduled to take place in the Seine at the Olympic Games in the summer and recently there were still concerns about the water quality.
In July, “we’re bathing in the Seine,” Hidalgo said at the city’s New Year’s reception and immediately invited police prefect Marc Guillaume to accompany them on this “historic plunge into the water,” as France Info reported.
Their jump into the Seine comes “over 30 years after Jacques Chirac’s promise,” said Hidalgo. In 1990, the then mayor and later president had promised Parisians that they would be able to swim in the Seine again from 1993 – but that never happened.
According to the city, 1.4 billion euros were invested in the run-up to the Olympic Games for a clean Seine in the greater Paris area. This involved modernizing sewage treatment plants and connecting buildings to the sewer system that previously discharged wastewater into the river.
Outdoor swimming pools in the Seine
After the Olympic Games, Parisians should be able to swim regularly in the Seine again from 2025. In addition to a water sports center that is already used for leisure activities, two other centrally located locations are to be converted into outdoor swimming pools, one of which is not far from the Eiffel Tower. The water areas should be delimited by buoys and accessible via a footbridge. The city announced that areas for changing clothes and showering will also be created.
Being able to swim in the Seine again is a long-held wish in the French capital. This was officially banned in 1923, but swimming was still practiced until the early 1960s.