First Leisure Swim for Parisians Into the Seine in More Than a Century

c0lo writes:

France24 reports:

For the first time in more than 100 years, Parisians and tourists alike took a dive into the Seine on Saturday as three new swimming sites opened to the public. The long-forbidden waters are now officially open to the public, following a 1.4-billion cleanup project that paved the way for the open-water events at the Paris Olympics last year.

It is a historic moment for Paris residents but perhaps a dubious one as well, after several swimmers got sick after competing in the open-water races at the 2024 Paris Olympics - although it is not clear if this was due to the water itself, and the World Aquatics governing body said the Seine met necessary thresholds.

A century ago it became illegal to bathe in the waters of the French capital due to severe pollution. In the late 18th and throughout the 19th century, human waste was used for fertiliser. But as alternative fertilisers became more common, sewage was increasingly fed directly into the Seine, making it unfit for bathing.

For many Parisians, their ideas of the Seine are less than romantic: with its fast-paced murky water, floating trash and the occasional 2-metre-long catfish, it's a river full of surprises.

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