Paris opens river Seine for public swimming for first time since 1923

Parisians rushed for a dip successful the Seine connected Saturday (July 5, 2025) arsenic the authorities opened the stream to nationalist swimming for the archetypal clip since 1923 aft an extended clean-up cognition spurred connected by it being utilized arsenic a venue successful the Paris Olympics.

Three sites on the banks of the Seine successful the metropolis volition beryllium capable to invited implicit 1,000 swimmers regular until August 31, section officials said.

“We’re particularly blessed to person proved the sceptics incorrect and to beryllium capable to present connected the commitments we initially made connected thing that was precise large and precise analyzable to achieve,” said Pierre Rabadan, Paris lawman politician for the Seine river.

The reopening of the Seine for nationalist swimming follows efforts by authorities to amended its h2o prime truthful it could beryllium utilized for Olympic events past summer.

Investments included connecting tens of thousands of homes to the sewer system, upgrading h2o attraction facilities, and constructing ample rainwater retention reservoirs to forestall sewer overflow during dense storms.

Also read: Seine swimming: Parisian contented revived astatine Olympics

While delays, triggered by the wellness interaction of dense rains, impacted immoderate Olympic grooming sessions and the men’s triathlon event, competitions successful the Seine yet went ahead, bolstering assurance successful the river’s information for nationalist swimming.

Daily h2o prime tests volition beryllium conducted during the swimming season, with greenish and reddish flags — akin to formation information systems — indicating whether swimming areas are unfastened oregon closed.

“Obviously, if we unfastened the swimming area, it is due to the fact that the h2o complies with the regulations; it poses perfectly nary information to the radical who spell swimming,” Mr. Rabadan told Reuters.

As good arsenic the 3 sites wrong Paris, 14 swimming areas extracurricular the capital's boundaries volition beryllium acceptable up connected the Seine and the Marne rivers. Two of those already opened connected the Marne successful June.