Swim in Paris’s river? Are you in Seine?! MailOnline heads to the French capital and asks whether anyone would chance its murky waters as Olympics triathlon is postponed despite €1billion clean-up
Parisians are still reluctant to take a dip in the Seine despite a massive €1 billion clean-up operation organised ahead of the Olympic Games, MailOnline has learned.
Locals still said they found the river ‘dirty’ and dismissed the idea of swimming in it as ‘crazy nonsense’ when asked, and they were also concerned about the water quality in the capital.
This came after the men’s triathlon event was postponed due to poor water quality, after tests in the river provided “no sufficient guarantees” that the event could go ahead.
Although World Triathlon reported that water quality had improved, the event was still postponed until Wednesday. It is the latest setback for organizers after a difficult start to the Games, marred by bad weather and criticism of the opening ceremony.
France has spent more than €1 billion (£840 million) cleaning up the river in preparation for the Games, but locals are still not convinced the water is safe to swim in.
Frah, lead singer of Shaka Ponk, told MailOnline he thought the idea of a dip in the river was ‘crazy’
He said unequivocally that he would not swim in the river despite efforts to clean it.
Training sessions for the Olympic triathlon event in Paris have been cancelled in recent days
MailOnline spoke to Shaka Ponk singer Frah in the French capital after the event was postponed due to concerns over water quality.
When asked if he would swim in the river, he replied, “No, it’s crazy shit.”
‘I think it’s gross.’
When asked what could live in the river, a second person replied, “Anything that’s dirty, rats live in it.”
He said he would consider swimming in the river for a million dollars.
Others were more convinced and had confidence in the local government’s efforts to make the river safe for swimming.
“I think it’s very clean,” a third person told MailOnline.
‘Pollution wasn’t a big concern for Paris. Now it is.
‘We should be happy about this. What the city has done for its people.’
Paris has spent a small fortune cleaning the river that runs through the capital in preparation for the Olympic Games.
This included the construction of a huge reservoir to collect excess rainwater and prevent waste from entering the river.
Before the renovation work, swimming in the Seine was banned for a century because of its pollution.
Pierre Rabadan, deputy mayor of Paris and responsible for the Olympic Games, called the clean-up operation at the time “our contribution to the future”.
“If people see athletes without health problems swimming in the Seine, they will have more confidence in swimming in the Seine again,” he said.
Another local spoke to MailOnline about the water and said it was still full of nasty stuff
But for a million pounds? Maybe some could be persuaded to get into the water
The operation was a colossal effort, which represented major steps forward in improving water quality. Hopes that improvement was possible were revived after Jacques Chirac, then mayor, failed to make the river clean enough to swim in in 1990.
But despite the improvements, heavy rainfall in the days before a match can still lead to a rise in harmful E. coli bacteria.
Heavy rainfall can cause problems with wastewater and water velocity.
In April, a French water charity reported “alarming levels of pollution”, raising fears the river would not be ready in time.
The Surfrider Foundation took 14 samples from the Seine over a six-month period and all but one test found the water to be potentially dangerous.
The values for E. coli and enterococci, bacteria that indicate the presence of feces and can cause serious illness, were found to be two to three times higher than the maximum permitted values.
And last weekend, Tony Estanguet, the organizer of the Paris 2024 event, told a press conference that he was still “very confident” that the Seine swim would go ahead.
But Friday’s results showed the river, known for its romantic views, still fails water quality tests.
Parisians threatened to defecate in the river on June 23 in protest against the French government, but it is unclear whether anything actually happened.
Many are angry that so much money has been spent on cleaning it up, with no apparent effect.
President Emmanuel Macron and Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo have vowed to swim in the river to prove it is safe, as the riot threatens to undermine confidence in the organizers.
The triathletes’ swimming training sessions were cancelled on Sunday and Monday and it was decided to move the men’s competition, which was due to start at 8am local time on Tuesday, to Wednesday.
According to a statement from World Triathlon, next Friday will remain an emergency day if one or both races cannot go ahead.
“Tests carried out today in the Seine have shown that the water quality does not provide sufficient guarantees for the event to take place,” the statement said.
‘Despite the improvement in water quality, the values at some points in the swimming course are still above acceptable values.’
Open water swimmer Leah Crisp revealed last week that she and her competitors were concerned about the race in the River Seine and hoped there was a ‘plan B’.