Paris reopens parts of the Seine River to swimming

Hundreds of Parisian bathers took a dip in the Seine on Saturday for the first time since 1923, the culmination of a clean-up of the French capital's iconic river that began with the 2024 Olympic Games.

The waters of the Seine were opened to the public in three parts of the course, in Bras Marie, opposite the Ile Saint-Louis, in Bercy, near the National Library, and in Grenelle, opposite the Ile des Swans, a stone's throw from the Eiffel Tower.

Although swimming is free and open to the public, according to Paris City Council, it will not be accessible without conditions, according to the Spanish agency Europa Press.

Swimmers must be at least 14 years old and 1.40 meters tall.

The use of a safety buoy is mandatory and there will be at least three lifeguards permanently present in each area.

Furthermore, it will not be possible to swim the entire width of the river, which is very susceptible to the effects of navigation and storms at other points along the course.

Authorities have created “safe spaces” and declared the rest of the waters rough, with bathing still prohibited.

“I thought it was going to be freezing cold, but it’s actually really nice,” enthused Karine, a 51-year-old healthcare assistant who was among the first swimmers to enter the water with a yellow float.

The mayor of the capital, socialist Anne Hidalgo, was at the reopening, along with the Minister of Sports, Marie Barsacq.

Opening the Seine to swimmers “is also a way of adapting the city to changes in temperature,” Hidalgo said, quoted by the France-Presse news agency (AFP).

Hidalgo said he aims to open about 30 spots for swimmers.

The mayor signed a decree a week ago that authorizes access to water in a “historic moment”, after an interval of more than 100 years.

More than 1.4 billion euros were invested to improve the quality of the water upstream of the river, with works to capture waste water to prevent it from flowing into the Seine.

The sanitary quality of the water is exceptional, assured the regional mayor, Marc Guillaume.

“There are two bacteria that we monitor, E.coli and enterococci, some of which are 10 times below the thresholds and others more than 25 times below the thresholds,” he said.

Given that in Paris rainwater and wastewater are mixed into a single network, the only solution in the event of heavy rain is to discharge the excess into the Seine.

Record rainfall during the 2024 Olympic Games often made the water unfit for athletes to swim in.

This summer, as on the beach, flags (green, yellow, red) will be used to monitor the flow of the Seine and the quality of the water, analysed by instant probes and culture samples.

If the flags are red, swimming will be closed. The Seine bathing areas will remain open until August 31.