Paris: In an unconventional sight, Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo lived up to her promise of swimming in the River Seine of the French capital to dispel concerns over water quality ahead of the mega Paris Olympics that will begin on July 26. The triathlon and marathon swimming competitions will be held in the same river, and Hidalgo's swim came after a water cleanup was done.
Hidalgo had promised to swim in the Seine in an effort to mark the arrival of the Olympics and dispel worries that the river was not clean enough and ready to stage swimming events at the Olympics. Hidalgo's swim near the Pont Marie bridge followed Sports Minister Amelie Oudea-Castera's move to bathe in the Seine on Saturday.
"You go into the water, it seems natural and easy, the water is really, really good, a bit cold, but not too much. And look at the joy around us - and on top of that, the sun is out," said Hidalgo. "The Games more than challenged us, it was the driving force and the accelerator (of Seine cleanup). But we're doing this because we need to adapt our city to the climate, to climate change and to restore our river."
Hidalgo, wearing a short wetsuit, was joined by Paris 2024 President Tony Estanguet and Paris region prefect Marc Guillaume for the swim. "The Olympic Village for athletes opens tomorrow, the first athletes are arriving tomorrow, and so this is a very important message that, finally, the Seine is swimmable, and the triathlon and swimming events can be held here," said Estanguet.
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Meanwhile, Guillaume said the water cleanup was up to standards and the river was swimmable in the past three weeks. "Yes, there could be rain for a couple of hours or even for a day, in which case, the Seine will no longer be up to standards, but that's why with the Olympic organisation committee we've planned for contingency days," he added.
City employees, journalists and a handful of everyday Parisians were also invited to take part in the swimming event. The French capital has been working on cleaning up the Seine so people can swim in it again, as was the case during the 1900 Paris Olympics.
Thousands of homes and hundreds of boats on the Seine have been connected to sewer networks; rainwater storage facilities meant to prevent sewage overflows have been built; and additional means of treating water have been deployed in water treatment plants. The process of reclaiming the river started years ago when most of the riverbanks were closed to traffic and made accessible to pedestrians but efforts accelerated when Paris won the Olympic bid.
"It's fresh water, the small current is quite pleasant, it carries you nicely and I wasn't expecting it to be so pleasant. The water was 20 degrees (Celsius, or 68 Fahrenheit) I believe today, it was easy to go in, and the weather is just right," said Paris city employee Veronique Le Gall.
(with inputs from Reuters)
