The Seine Where Swimmers Once Fell Ill... "Public Swimming Allowed for the First Time in 100 Years"

Swimming Zone Operations to Be Determined by Daily Water Quality Checks
"Reclaiming the River Through Water Quality Improvements... A Historic Event"

Starting this summer, the general public will be able to swim in the Seine River in Paris. The city of Paris plans to accelerate the restoration of the Seine as part of daily life by operating swimming areas for ordinary citizens this summer.

On May 14 (local time), the city of Paris announced in a press release that it will open swimming areas in three sections of the Seine from July 5 to August 31. Swimming will be permitted at the Marie tributary opposite ?le Saint-Louis in central Paris (4th arrondissement), along the Bercy riverside in the east (12th arrondissement), and near the Grenelle port in the west (15th arrondissement).

On July 31 last year (local time), athletes are diving into the Seine River during the women's individual triathlon event at the 2024 Paris Olympics held in Paris. Photo by AFP

The Marie tributary can accommodate up to 150 people at once, while Bercy?with two swimming zones and a sunbathing area?can accommodate up to 700 people simultaneously (with a maximum of 300 in the swimming zones). The Grenelle swimming area will be designed as a safe pool for families and children, with a depth of 40 to 60 cm, and can also accommodate up to 150 swimmers at a time.

The city of Paris stated that national agencies and the regional health authority will check the water quality of the swimming zones daily to determine whether the pools can operate. The city also explained that lifeguards will be stationed on days when swimming is permitted to respond to emergencies. Swimming will remain prohibited in all areas of the Seine except for these three zones.

The city of Paris said, "This summer, Parisians and tourists will once again be able to enjoy swimming in the Seine for the first time in 100 years," and described it as "a historic event that contributes to citizens' leisure and the enhancement of biodiversity by reclaiming the river through water quality improvements."

The city further welcomed the achievement, stating, "This is a major legacy of the 2024 Olympics and Paralympics."

Swimming in the Seine was banned in 1923 due to water pollution caused by industrialization. Until the early 1960s, people occasionally jumped into the Seine, but after that, swimming ceased entirely. Although the city of Paris had attempted to clean up the river, efforts stalled until the 2024 Paris Olympics provided momentum, leading to projects such as the modernization of sewage treatment facilities.

Driven by the Paris Olympic Organizing Committee's determination to hold Olympic swimming events in the Seine, three triathlon events (men's and women's individual, and mixed relay), men's and women's open water swimming (marathon swimming), and the triathlon event for the Paralympics were held in the river last year. However, due to poor water quality, several practice events were canceled, and some athletes who swam in the Seine experienced health issues such as stomachaches and diarrhea.