Parisians take a historic plunge into the River Seine after more than a century

Published connected 05/07/2025 - 16:17 GMT+2•Updated 16:20

Parisians connected Saturday jumped into nan stream Seine —legally—for nan first clip successful much than 100 years, pinch cries of "woo" and "it is warm!" ringing retired crossed nan Seine.

It comes arsenic nationalist swimming was allowed successful designated areas of nan Seine, including 2 recently built woody decks adjacent nan Eiffel Tower and nan Île Saint-Louis successful cardinal Paris.

Before sunrise, a municipal serviceman skimmed distant nan past fewer patches of algae pinch a fishnet. Soon after, a statement of eager Parisians formed, towels successful hand, waiting for their chance to jump in.

Wows and cries of joyousness echoed crossed nan riverbanks arsenic nan first swimmers entered nan emerald-green water.

Under nan observant supervision of a twelve lifeguards wearing high-visibility vests, each swimmer donned a agleam yellowish lifebuoy fastened astir their waist. The existent was weak, conscionable capable to tug mildly astatine their limbs—a reminder that this is still a living, municipality river.

“It’s truthful bully to aquatics successful nan bosom of nan city, particularly pinch nan precocious temperatures we’ve been having lately,” said Amine Hocini, a 25-year-old building worker from Paris.

“I’m amazed because I thought it was going to beryllium cooler, and successful fact, it’s overmuch warmer than I thought.”

The return to swimming follows a 1.4 cardinal euro cleanup task tied to past year’s Olympics. Officials now opportunity nan Seine meets European h2o value standards connected astir days.

Mayor Anne Hidalgo, who already took a dip past year, was location Saturday morning, holding up a transparent vessel filled pinch stream h2o arsenic a show of confidence. She said, “It’s a puerility dream to make group aquatics successful nan Seine."

Water Quality is 'exceptional'

Meanwhile, biology authorities confirmed germs levels were good beneath charismatic thresholds. "The h2o value is 'exceptional,'" said Marc Guillaume, nan prefect for nan Paris' Ile-de-France region. "We are monitoring 2 bacteria, E. coli and enterococci, and for 1 we are 10 times beneath nan thresholds and for nan different much than 25 times below," he said.

From nan deck, visitors and greeting joggers stopped to watch. Some applauded arsenic swimmers climbed up nan alloy ladders, grinning and dripping. Others, for illustration François Fournier, remained sceptical.

“I won’t consequence it, rather frankly,” said Fournier, who lives atop nan riverbanks and observed nan segment from a span above. “I’ve seen things you can’t ideate floating successful nan Seine, truthful I’ll hold for it to beryllium really squeaky clean.”

Floating debris still bobbed present and there—a stray leaf, a integrative wrapper—but nan smell was hardly noticeable: nary beardown sewage odour, conscionable an earthy, river-like scent.

“This is truthful chic, to aquatics successful nan Seine, adjacent to Île Saint-Louis,” said Lucile Woodward, 43, a resident. “There are immoderate apprehensions, of course, immoderate clip you spell to aquatics somewhere, but I deliberation this is 1 of nan astir tested areas successful nan full world now. I don’t deliberation nan municipality hallway tin let itself to person immoderate problems.”

She added pinch a laugh, “My tegument is OK.”

Swimming successful nan Seine had been forbidden since 1923, pinch a fewer exceptions, owed to contamination and risks posed by stream navigation. Taking a dip extracurricular bathing areas is still banned for information reasons.