Dozens of swimmers took a dip in the Seine with Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo on Wednesday in a much-anticipated event to show the cleanliness of the river before the Olympic Games.
“It's pure joy,” Ms Hidalgo, 65, said after her 100-metre front crawl swim wearing goggles and a knee-length wetsuit. “The water feels good – a little cool but not that much. And it's sunny."
Ms Hidalgo became the first Paris mayor to fulfil their promise of swimming in the Seine, as she sought to boost excitement nine days before the Games' opening ceremony, which is due to take place on the river.
In 1988, her predecessor Jacques Chirac famously failed to swim in the river due to high pollution levels.
The city invested €1.4 billion ($1.5 billion) on preventing sewage leaks into the waterway but the event had to be postponed several times because of heavy rain. Swimming in the Seine has been banned for over a century. However, the river is set to be used for the swimming leg of the Olympics triathlon on July 30 and 31 and August 5.
Ms Hidalgo was joined by swimming enthusiasts and colleagues, including Antoine Guillou, deputy mayor in charge of waste management and sanitation.
“We are reversing the tide of history,” he told The National as he readied to swim, wearing an old-fashioned striped black and white swimsuit stamped with his office logo – a sewer hole.
“We are giving back to the Seine its role as a river and natural environment that it should never have lost,” said Mr Guillou.
As a legacy of the clean-up effort for the Games, the city has promised that the public will be able to swim in three different sites starting next summer.
Her swim had been scheduled for last month but was delayed because bacteria indicating the presence of faecal matter was found to be as high as 10 times higher than authorised limits in France's second-longest river.
“The Seine is impacted by rainfall and by general weather conditions, not only in Paris but upstream,” said Mr Guillou. “The idea is that when there is rainfall, discharges occur in the Seine because the Seine is historically a safety valve for sanitation networks.”
Some of Paris's underground water network dates back to the 19th century.
The event has sparked jokes and memes on social media, with one viral AI-generated image showing Ms Hidalgo looking like the wrinkled Gollum character from the Lord of the Rings movies after her dip.
Countdown to the Paris 2024 Olympic Games – in pictures
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The Olympic rings are illuminated on the Eiffel Tower before the start of the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. Getty Images -
The Arc de Triomphe adorned with the Paralympic logo. Getty Images -
Riders and horses from Team Ireland practise dressage during an equestrian eventing training session at Chateau de Versailles. Getty Images -
A beach volleyball practice match at the Eiffel Tower Stadium. AP -
Boipelo Awuah of South Africa during skateboard training at La Concorde. Reuters -
French President Emmanuel Macron with athletes during a visit to the Olympic village. Reuters -
A view of the beach volleyball venue in Paris. AP -
People play basketball in front of the Hotel de Ville. Getty Images -
The skateboarding venue at La Concorde. AFP -
The interior of the Grand Palais, where fencing and taekwondo competitions will take place. Getty Images -
The Olympic village, as seen from the Village plaza in Saint-Denis. Getty Images -
French judoka Clarisse Agbegnenou holds the Olympic Torch next to Tony Estanguet, president of the organising committee of the 2024 Games, at the Eiffel Tower. AFP -
The Olympic Games logo at Bastille Square in Paris. EPA -
A soldier at a military camp in the Vincennes forest, on the outskirts of Paris. The camp will house 4,500 soldiers who will provide additional security during the Games. AP -
Torchbearers pose with the Olympic flame and dancers outside The Moulin Rouge. Reuters -
A banner bearing the Paris 2024 Olympic Games logo, at the Trocadero in Paris. AFP -
Lt Gen Christophe Abad, the Military Governor of Paris, holds the Olympic torch as he rides past officials including President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte during the Bastille Day military parade. AFP -
The Eiffel Tower Stadium as workers prepare the venue that will host beach volleyball events. Getty Images -
Workers set up internet cables inside the handball arena in Paris. Getty Images -
Torch bearer and French BMX world champion Matthias Dandois performs after holding the Olympic flame at the Trocadero in front of the Eiffel Tower. AFP -
Olympic rings are installed in front of the Nantes train station. AFP -
Members of the public take photos in front of the countdown clock for the Games at Port de la Bourfonnais, near the Eiffel Tower, in Paris. PA -
Stands are constructed at Place de la Concorde ahead of the Games. PA -
Tourists stand on the Sacre-Coeur Basilica stairs painted with the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games colours. Reuters -
The big screens at Piccadilly Circus in London marking 100 days to go before the Games begin. PA -
People watch as former British Olympic artistic swimmers Asha George, Katie Clark, Sisy Wang and Emily Kuhl perform in a water tank in London to mark 100 days before the Games. Reuters -
Stands are constructed on the Champ-de-Mars, near the Eiffel Tower. PA -
Greek actress Mary Mina, playing the role of High Priestess, lights the flame during the Olympic Flame lighting ceremony in Greece for the Paris 2024 Olympics. Reuters -
Workers build stands for this summer's Olympic Games on the Champ-de-Mars, beside the Eiffel Tower in Paris. AP -
French skipper Armel Le Cleac'h poses with the Olympic torch and the Olympic lantern, in Paris. Navigator Mr Le Cleac'h will carry the Olympic flame from Brest to the Antilles next June in the ocean torch relay, which will visit six French overseas territories. AFP -
Workers construct banks of seating in front of the obelisk at the La Concorde Urban Park site in central Paris. AFP -
Police officers, military personnel, rescue workers and firefighters take part in an exercise simulating a terrorist attack at the Groupama Stadium in Decines-Charpieu, eastern France. AFP -
Activists hold a banner that translates to: 'Do not leave exclusion as a legacy', during a protest to raise awareness of the social impact of the Olympics in Paris. AP -
Grandstands are set up in the gardens of Chateau de Versailles, where equestrian events and the modern pentathlon will be held. EPA -
The facade of Paris City Hall is decorated with the Olympic rings. EPA -
Some of the French capital's Metro stations have changed their name for Olympic year. EPA -
Maintenance work is carried out at the swimming pools in the Aquatics Centre, built for the Olympics in Saint Denis. AFP -
Two official Olympic 'Phryges' mascots on parade at the headquarters of the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Organising Committee. AFP -
The Champ-de-Mars Arena is taking shape. It will host judo, para judo, wrestling and wheelchair rugby, with beach volleyball held nearby. AP -
Olympic gold, silver and bronze medals in a Louis Vuitton medals trunk, which will transport and protect the gongs. Reuters -
Members of the French National Police elite unit take part in an exercise drill in the Paris suburb of Draveil. AFP -
The Media Village that will host journalists from around the world, in Le Bourget. AFP -
Activists pose with Olympic rings outside the Orsay Museum in Paris, during a demonstration to draw attention to social inequality they say will be exacerbated by the coming event. AFP -
Employees work on outfits for volunteers at a manufacturing workshop in Marseille. AFP -
A test for the Olympic torch relay in Troyes. Reuters -
A French police officer demonstrates how an anti-drone gun works during a media presentation of security systems at a military base in Velizy-Vallacoublay, south-west of Paris. AFP
Those who volunteered to swim alongside Ms Hidalgo and her team said they were undeterred by the Seine's pollution.
“It's iconic to swim here. I can come by metro. It's really nice,” said Pierre Malherbe, 49. “I'm not worried about the dirt. It's all diluted in lots of water anyway.”
Speaking before the event, Marc Valmassoni from clean-water campaign group Surfrider, said: “It's been raining all over France. Summer has been very late to arrive and so have the good results.”
“They're not excellent, they're not terrible, they're average. But at this time the water is swimmable.”
Rehearsals for the opening ceremony on the Seine, during which thousands of athletes will set sail down the river, have been postponed repeatedly because of the strength of the currents.
