Each swimmer wore a bright yellow life cattle tied around his waist, part of strict security measures imposed by a dozen lifeguards in high visibility vests. The current was weak, enough to gently throw from its limbs, a reminder that it remains a living urban river.
“It is very nice to swim in the heart of the city, especially with the high temperatures we have had lately,” said Amine Hocini, a construction worker of 25 years in Paris. “I am surprised because I thought I was going to be cooler and, in fact, it is much warmer than I thought.”
The return to swimming follows a cleaning project of 1.4 billion euros ($ 1.5 billion) linked to last year’s Olympic Games. The authorities now say that SENA meets European water quality standards in most days. Mayor Anne Hidalgo, who already took a dip last year, was there on Saturday morning, holding a transparent bottle full of river water as a sample of confidence. The environmental authorities confirmed that the bacteria levels were well below the official thresholds.
Swimming in Sena had been illegal since 1923, with some exceptions, due to pollution and risks raised by river navigation. Taking a dip outside the bathing areas is still prohibited for safety reasons.
From the terrace, the tourists and the morning runners stopped to look. Some applauded when the swimmers climbed the steel stairs, smiling and dripping. Others, such as François Fournier, remained skeptical.
“I will not risk frankly,” said Fournier, who lives on the banks of the river and observed the scene from a bridge above. “I have seen things that you cannot imagine floating in the Seine, so I will wait for it to be really clean.”
Floating debris still swayed here and there, a lost leaf, a plastic wrapping, but the smell was barely remarkable: without smell of strong wastewater, just an eartoma aroma, similar to the river.
“This is very elegant, swimming in Sena, along with île Saint-Louis,” said Lucile Woodward, 43, a resident. “There are some apprehensions, of course, every time you go swimming somewhere, but I think this is one of the most proven areas in the world now. I don’t think the City Council can afford to have some problem.”
He added with a smile: “My skin is fine.”
