Public swimming in Paris’ Seine River is due to make a comeback over a century after it was banned with just a few exceptions.
Starting on 5 July, three public swimming sites will open along the Seine River - one near Notre Dame, another by the Eiffel Tower, and a third in eastern Paris.
The reopening is part of one of the French capital’ns most ambitious Olympic legacies. At a cost of around $1.5 billion (€1.27bn), the river has undergone a massive cleanup operation to transform it from a polluted, boat-choked artery into a swimmable urban oasis.
The sites will be free to use, supervised by lifeguards, and will operate on a daily schedule throughout the summer. A colour-coded flag system - green for safe, red for nope - will let visitors know whether it’s swim time or sunbathe-only time.
But many Parisians remain hesitant on whether or not to take the plunge. The Seine’s surface can still appear murky, litter floats by, and bacteria levels are known to fluctuate with the weather.
Dan Angelescu, a scientist and founder of Fluidion, has been independently testing the river’s water quality for years. He warns that the current official testing methods may not accurately reflect the real-time risks: "What we see is that the water quality in the Seine is highly variable and it is, there are only a few days in a swimming season where I would say water quality is acceptable for swimming, according to the regulations currently in place."
"All we can say is that we can raise a hand and say look, the science today does not support the current assessment of water safety used in the in the rivers around Paris, and we think that there is major risk that is not being captured at all."
But with over 35 species of fish now calling the Seine home - compared to just a handful in the 1970s - it’s clear the cleanup has had an impact. But whether Parisians will follow the fish into the water remains to be seen.
Check out the video above for more on the Seine swimming initiative.
