Swimming in the Seine: 35,000 swimmers in one month despite 13 days of closure

When water prevents swimming. The three spaces opened in early July in the Seine (Bercy, Bras-Marie and Grenelle) suffered from the summer rains, although they have still welcomed more than 35,000 people since their opening, according to the Paris City Hall on Tuesday, August 5.

" We knew the weather would be a factor ," commented Pierre Rabadan, deputy mayor of Paris for sport, and " it rained quite a bit " in July, with rainfall exceeding 20 mm. The pool was open for 18 days and closed for 13, with the Bercy swimming pool " most impacted ." " But we're extremely satisfied ," he added.

In 2016, Paris Socialist Mayor Anne Hidalgo promised to clean up the river so that Parisians could swim in it. Nearly ten years later, three spaces opened on July 5th in the wake of the Olympic competitions held in the Seine in the summer of 2024. To achieve this, the basin located in Austerlitz for storing wastewater and rainwater has been operational since last summer. In all, cleaning up the water will have required more than €1.4 billion of investment. " There was no discharge (of sewers into the Seine, editor's note) during the summer period ," reassures Pierre Rabadan.

" There are regulars who are on the lookout for the opening, those who go for a run and then swim afterwards, families, but also tourists ," notes the elected official regarding the profile of bathers. The mandatory swimming buoys mean that the latter " stay longer " in the water and " chat with their friends ." These spaces are due to close at the end of August " for now ."

In the event of a queue, " there will be a wristband system ," he added. To date, the highest daily attendance was 5,700 people on July 13.