Paris Reopens River Seine for Public Swimming After 100 Years

‍After a Century, Paris Reopens the Seine for Public Swimming Following Olympic-Inspired Clean-Up

For the first time since 1923, Parisians took a celebratory plunge into the River Seine on Saturday, as authorities officially reopened the iconic waterway for public swimming. The move follows a massive, years-long cleanup project prompted by the city’s commitment to use the river as a venue during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

Three designated swimming spots along the Seine within city limits are now open to the public and can accommodate over 1,000 swimmers daily through August 31, according to local officials.

“We’re especially happy to have proved the skeptics wrong and to be able to deliver on the commitments we initially made on something very big and very complicated to achieve,” said Pierre Rabadan, Paris Deputy Mayor in charge of the Seine.

The decision to reopen the river came after extensive efforts by city and national authorities to improve water quality. Those efforts included connecting tens of thousands of homes to the city’s sewer system, upgrading wastewater treatment facilities, and constructing massive rainwater retention basins to prevent raw sewage from entering the river during storms.

Though heavy rainfall ahead of the Olympics caused delays in some events forcing changes to training schedules and postponing the men’s triathlon—key competitions in the Seine ultimately went ahead. That success helped bolster public and official confidence in the river’s safety for recreational use.

To ensure swimmer safety, daily water quality testing will be carried out throughout the season. Beach-style green and red flags will signal whether swimming conditions meet safety standards.

“Obviously, if we open the swimming area it is because the water complies with regulations and poses absolutely no danger to the people who go swimming,” Rabadan told Reuters.

In addition to the three city-based locations, 14 more designated swimming areas will be launched along the Seine and Marne rivers outside Paris. Two of those, located on the Marne, opened in June.

The reopening of the Seine stands as both a symbolic and practical milestone for the French capital, blending public health, environmental restoration, and Olympic legacy into a historic summer for Parisians and visitors alike.

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Source: NDTV‍