A year ago, she promised it, had to postpone it twice due to poor water quality, and this Wednesday, Paris Mayor fulfilled her promise, which is also an old dream of Parisians: swimming in the Seine. Anne Hidalgo took a plunge into the waters of the iconic river, dressed in a wetsuit and diving goggles.
Accompanying her in the water were Tony Estanguet, president of the Paris Organising Committee for the Olympic, and the prefect of Paris, Marc Guillaume. The mayor descended the steps of the designated swimming area and swam for a while, amidst cheers and applause, in water at around 20 degrees Celsius. All swimmers wore wetsuits, as the temperatures in Paris are not very high for mid-July.
Beyond the anecdote, the image carries significant meaning. It has been a century since the river was accessible for swimming due to the poor water quality. The city has been working for months to lower pollution levels and be able to host some Olympic events in the Seine river, such as the open water swimming and triathlon competitions.
Last summer, some planned pilot tests had to be canceled due to high levels of bacteria in the water. The open water swimming event could take place, but not the triathlon. For the upcoming Games, the triathlon events will be held on July 30 and 31, and the marathon swimming events on August 8 and 9. In case the water quality is not suitable by then (Hidalgo's swim today does not guarantee it), there are backup plans B and C.
With nine days left until the opening ceremony of the sporting event, there were doubts about whether the river would be ready for the competitions. Anne Hidalgo had to postpone her anticipated swim twice. It was initially planned for June 30 but was delayed due to high pollution levels. The same happened last week. Finally, the conditions were met: acceptable weather and clean water.
"It has been a dream day, a lot of work has gone into achieving this, there's a technical aspect, infrastructure... and we have succeeded (...) This will be the greatest legacy of the Games," said the mayor, still soaked, after exiting the river. The plan is to have several swimming areas accessible in the river for Paris residents and tourists next year after the Olympic event.
Cleaning the Seine has cost the state 1.4 billion euros since 2016 when purification works began. The main issue is that during heavy rainfall, purification systems fail to filter all the water, leading to overflow into the Seine, contaminating it with waste. Additionally, the boats navigating the river contribute to this pollution.
The purification stations have been modernized, and a monumental project has been completed, involving an underground mega-deposit to store rainwater and prevent it from overflowing into the Seine.
Hidalgo is not the first to do this. In fact, over the weekend, Sports Minister Amélie Oudéa-Castéra beat her to it, including a slip. French President Emmanuel Macron also promised to swim, but amid a political crisis in the country after advancing legislative elections and with the government in transition, he has not yet fulfilled his promise.