Members
of
the
public
swim
at
the
Baignade
de
Grenelle
bathing
site
at
the
River
Seine
on
its
opening
day
in
Paris,
France
on
July
5,
2025.
Tom
Nicholson
/
Getty
Images
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and
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After
more
than
a
century,
a
ban
on
swimming
in
the
River
Seine
in
Paris
has
been
lifted.
The
river
has
been
deemed
clean
and
safe
enough
for
swimming
to
once
again
be
legal
in
this
iconic
waterway.
According
to
the
city’s
official
tourism
office,
11
total
swimming
areas
are
reopening
across
Paris,
with
three
of
those
sites
opening
along
the
Seine.
The
newly
opened
supervised
swimming
areas
along
the
Seine
include
a
spot
in
Bercy
of
the
12th
arrondissement,
which
includes
two
pools
and
a
beach;
a
spot
in
the
4th
arrondissement
in
Bras
Marie;
and
a
third
site
at
Bras
de
Grenelle
in
the
15th
arrondissement,
across
from
the
Parisian
Statue
of
Liberty.
The
supervised
swimming
areas
are
free
and
will
accept
up
to
1,000
swimmers
per
day
until
the
end
of
August,
The
Guardian
reported.
Paris
reopens
River
Seine
to
public
swimming
after
century-long
ban[image
or
embed]—
The
Guardian
(@theguardian.com)July
6,
2025
at
1:35
PM
According
to
the
BBC,
the
new
swimming
sites
include
lifeguard
supervision,
changing
rooms,
showers,
beach
furniture
and
enough
space
for
about
300
people
to
lay
out
on
towels
at
each
site.
However,
the
swimming
sites
will
undergo
daily
health
checks,
which
have
already
led
to
a
temporary
shutdown
on
Sunday,
July
6
after
rain.
As
CTV
News
reported,
rain
in
Paris
can
cause
the
city’s
sewage
system
to
overflow,
presenting
bacterial
risks
in
the
Seine.
The
ban
on
swimming
in
the
Seine
was
overturned
after
a
1.4
billion
euro
($1.64
billion)
effort
to
clean
up
the
river
and
improve
wastewater
infrastructure
in
time
for
the
2024
summer
Olympics.
However,
despite
efforts
to
improve
water
quality
in
time
for
the
Olympic
events,
pollution
led
to
the
cancellation
of
the
Open
Water
Swimming
World
Cup.
Swimmers
were
ultimately
able
to
complete
the
Olympic
events
in
the
Seine,
but
multiple
swimmers
ended
up
ill
afterward,
although
it
wasn’t
clear
if
the
illnesses
were
tied
to
water
quality,
Today
reported.
The
move
to
reverse
the
ban
initially
began
in
the
1980s
with
then
mayor
and
later
French
President
Jacques
Chirac.
Since
then,
the
city
has
worked
to
connect
thousands
of
homes
to
an
improved
sewer
system,
in
addition
to
improving
wastewater
treatment
plants
and
increasing
rainwater
storage
to
minimize
risk
of
sewage
overflows.
Even
with
the
improvements
to
water
and
sewage
infrastructure,
some
residents
remain
cautious
about
the
opened
swimming
areas.
“I
won’t
risk
it
quite
frankly,”
François
Fournier,
resident
who
lives
near
the
river,
told
AP
News.
“I’ve
seen
things
you
can’t
imagine
floating
in
the
Seine,
so
I’ll
wait
for
it
to
be
really
squeaky
clean.”
However,
many
people
seem
eager
to
take
advantage
of
the
new
swim
sites,
which
opened
over
the
weekend
on
July
5
while
extreme
heat
affects
France
and
much
of
Europe.
“It’s
so
nice
to
swim
in
the
heart
of
the
city,
especially
with
the
high
temperatures
we’ve
been
having
lately,”
Amine
Hocini,
a
local
construction
worker
from
Paris,
told
AP
News.
“I’m
surprised
because
I
thought
it
was
going
to
be
cooler
and
in
fact,
it’s
much
warmer
than
I
thought.”
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