The Seine River is set to host swimming events for the Paris Olympics this summer. However, less than two months before the games, a local government bulletin released on June 21 revealed a degradation of water quality, with increases in E. coli on June 11, 15, and 16, attributed to rain discharges upstream.
President Emmanuel Macron and Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo were planning to swim in the Seine River last weekend to demonstrate its safety, but the event was postponed. Swimming in the Seine has been prohibited for around a century due to pollution from factory wastewater, sewage, and rain runoff.
The government has invested nearly $1.5 billion in efforts to clean up the river by repairing old pipes, limiting untreated wastewater discharge, and constructing a wastewater and rainwater storage basin. However, water tests indicate that it may still not be clean enough for swimming.
The Surfrider Foundation, an environmental nonprofit, penned an open letter earlier this year expressing concerns about the safety for athletes and urging officials to consider a contingency plan if the water quality remains unsafe.
A group of citizens opposed to the cleanup funding had planned to defecate in the river on the day politicians were to swim, sparking a protest movement online with a hashtag. The current status of the protest is uncertain following the swim postponement. The Paris Olympics are scheduled to start on July 26.
@scrippsnews Do you think the #SeineRiver in Paris will be clean enough for athletes to swim in by the time the #ParisOlympics kick off in July? Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo and the President of France Emmanuel Macron had said they would swim in the river over the weekend to show their cleanup efforts worked, but the event was postponed. #news #2024olympics ♬ original sound – Scripps News
