Go jump in the…Seine!

 By Louise Peloquin

      Rehema Ellis closed NBC’s July 17th Nightly News with it, The New York Times published a brief and other news outlets covered the story. No scoop ahead, just a third update on the River Seine in the run-up to the Summer Olympics. (1)

Nine days before the opening of the 2024 Summer Olympics, Paris Mayor Annie Hidalgo donned a black and orange wetsuit to honor her promise to take a dip in the Seine. “Pure happiness” she shouted to the TV cameras as she demonstrated her crawl technique along with Tony Estanguet, president of the 2024 Summer Olympics organizing committee, and a group of local elected officials. (2)

@Paris tweeted:

Swimming in the Seine – some dreamt of it, many doubted it and we, we did it!

     After a hundred meters or so, the swimmers reached a floating platform set up for journalists and a few vetted spectators. Mayor Hidalgo pointed out the four-year-long effort to depollute the Seine for the 2024 Summer Olympic open water events. “Without the Games, we would not have done this.”

After her swim, Hidalgo also told the journalists that the water was “cool but not cold at all. We didn’t feel like getting out!” Water temperature was 68 degrees F.

The Paris Mayor’s dip was but the first step towards a clean Seine.

“Imagine a spot here in a year, a pool for all who want to take a swim” she said. “The Games will have been the accelerator. But we are doing this because we need to adapt our cities to climate change.” Hidalgo referred to the usefulness of having a bathing venue at the very heart of the city. Parisians would not have to travel anywhere to do a cannonball and splash around on a hot summer day.

Naturally, the July 17th water quality analysis allowed for safe swimming. However, organizers warn that this good news does not quite guarantee smooth sailing – or rather swimming – for upcoming Olympic and Paralympic competitions such as the triathlon.  The quality of the Seine water is subject to environmental incidents. For instance, Hidalgo’s plunge, originally planned for June, had to be postponed several times because of heavy rainfall drainage into the river. Consequently, on the dates of the open water events, if the quality analyses do not meet cleanliness and safety requirements, competitions could be postponed or even partially cancelled. The triathlon could turn into a duathlon, for example.

The Seine’s water level has to be closely monitored as well. On July 16th, it was three times higher than it normally is. However, water watchdogs predict a decreased rate of flow which will allow the hundred-plus boats to navigate safely from Austerlitz Quai to Iéna Bridge.

All in all, the signs bode well.

Lyrics from an old Parisian song say:

La Seine est une amante

Et son amant c’est Paris. (3)

Here’s hoping Olympians, and Parisians after them, will soon experience the “pure happiness” of La Seine’s watery embrace. (4)

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1. “The last lap – Paris’s Summer Olympics” was posted on July 9. See link: https://richardhowe.com/2024/07/09/the-last-lap-pariss-summer-olympics/

“Olympic Happy Hour Ahead!” was posted on July 16th. See link:

https://richardhowe.com/2024/07/16/olympic-happy-hour-ahead/

2) French slalom canoeist Tony Estanguet, 46, won the slalom canoeing Olympic gold medal in Sydney in 2000, in Athens in 2004, and in London in 2012. He successfully led Paris’s bid for the 2024 Summer Olympics and is serving as the head of the organizing committee for those games.

3) “The Seine is a mistress and her lover is Paris.” “La Seine,” was written in 1948 by Guy Lafarge and Flavien Monod and was made popular the same year by Jacqueline François. Maurice Chevalier later included it in his performance repertoire.

4) News source: BFMTV. Translating by Louise Peloquin.