Paris mayor swims in Seine to prove water purity for Games

PARIS - Anne Hidalgo, mayor of Paris, the city that is to host the upcoming Olympic Games, swam on Wednesday in the Seine to assure the cleanliness of the river ahead of the Olympic competitions.

Accompanied by Tony Estanguet, president of the Paris 2024 Organising Committee for the Olympic and Paralympic Games, Hidalgo said that the water was in "rather optimal conditions."

"It's cool but not cold at all. We didn't want to go out," she said.

After a 100-year ban on bathing in the river, athletes will take the plunge in just a few days during the Games, the City Hall of Paris said on its X account, adding that swimming in the Seine will also be open to the public as of next summer.

The French government has spent more than 1.4 billion euros (about 1.5 billion U.S. dollars) since 2016 to make the Seine swimmable.

For the mayor of Paris, the hosting of the Olympic Games has accelerated the process. "When we clean the Seine, of course we will make it possible to prepare for the Olympics, of course we will be able to swim afterwards, but we also protect the rivers, for future generations," she said.

The Seine will host the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympic Games on July 26, and the triathlon and marathon swimming are also scheduled to take place in the Seine.