After months of anticipation, Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo took a dip in the Seine River, fulfilling a promise to show the river was clean enough to host open swimming competitions during the Olympics.
PARIS — After months of anticipation, Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo took a dip in the long-polluted Seine River on Wednesday, fulfilling a promise to show the river was clean enough to host open swimming competitions during the 2024 Olympics — and the opening ceremony on the river nine days away.
It’s part of a broader effort to showcase the river’s improved cleanliness ahead of the Summer Games which will kick off July 26 with a lavish open-air ceremony that includes an athletes’ parade on boats on the Seine. Daily water quality tests in early June indicated unsafe levels of E. coli bacteria, followed by recent improvements.
That didn't deter Hidalgo, who carefully entered the river Wednesday using a ladder on an artificial pond, set up for the event. Seven security boats were deployed for the occasion.The upper banks were crowded with curious spectators. The 23-year-old swam just a few meters from Hidalgo. “Her crawl form was pretty good,” he said, emerging from the water. “It’s pretty special to be among those who swam in the middle of Paris for the first time in a long, long time.”
Anne Hidalgo Enzo Gallet A Competitive Swimmer French Sports Minister Amélie Oudéa-Castéra Jacques Chirac The Former French President Notre Dame Cathedral Olympic Games This Year Paris Mayor Seine River Senn River
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