Anne Hidalgo launches invitations to swim in the Seine

REPORTAGE – The mayor of Paris swam for a few moments in the waters of the Seine, as part of the “swimming plan”. The Olympic river events planned in the Parisian river will indeed take place.

“It always seems impossible until it’s done.”. With her quote from Nelson Mandela, Anne Hidalgo looks radiant this Wednesday morning, nine days before the opening of the Olympic Games and the events planned in the river (July 30 for the triathlon). The mayor of Paris kept her promise to make the Seine swimmable, and swam in the brown waters in the Bras Marie, between the Saint-Paul district and the Île Saint-Louis, closed to the public.

White shoes, black and orange jumpsuit and sweater in the colours of the global event on her back, the mayor appeared around 9:20 am on the George Pompidou Way. Arriving on foot in the company of Pierre Rabadan, deputy for sports and the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games, Anne Hidalgo took a few photos and carried out a few obligations before heading to the pontoon located upstream of the river.

A five-minute swim

In front of a huge crowd of journalists, the socialist did not take a dive like the Minister of Sports and Games, Amélie Oudéa-Castéra, on Saturday morning. But she was the first to step onto the small platform, closely followed by Tony Estanguet, the president of the Olympic Games organizing committee, Marc Guillaume, the prefect of Île-de-France and Pierre Rabadan. Flanked by several boats (three from the fire brigade, two from the police and one from civil protection), she cautiously climbed down the ladder before diving in. Tony Estanguet, three-time Olympic champion in C1 slalom (2000, 2004 and 2012), showed that he had not lost anything during the ten meters he covered. The current helped the mayor, who accelerated after her few crawl movements. “They’re going so fast.”exclaims a member of the audience.

Then, after only five minutes of swimming, the mayor came out of the river via the second pontoon set up by the organization, before warming up in a bathrobe in the colors of Paris 2024. Hugs between officials followed the congratulatory pats. Then, while water polo players and other swimmers from the open water swimming organization partnering the event took to the water, the mayor made a point of thanking Tony Estanguet, Marc Guillaume and Pierre Rabadan at length.

Tony Estanguet, Anne Hidalgo and Marc Guillaume, after swimming for a few minutes this Wednesday morning. Abdul Saboor / REUTERS

More surprisingly, she had “a thought for Jacques Chirac” Who “really wanted to swim in the Seine”The former mayor of Paris (1977-1995) had made the same promise more than three decades before his successor, without however being able to keep it.

“The water is good, very good even”the councilor continued, his hair still damp. “It was 16 degrees at the beginning of June, it is now 20 degrees, explains Marc Guillaume, who briefly swaps his status as prefect for that of meteorologist. And we have no doubt that it will be even better in a few days.” The Paris prefect was pleased to have “implemented 100% of the original plan”. “We are ready for the Games, he assures. We are satisfied to have succeeded in this plan over four years, with redesigned pipeline structures and upgrades to standards.”

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“Triathletes will enjoy swimming in the Seine”

Tony Estanguet, with a bright smile, after recalling that the swimming plan “is a fantastic legacy”also confirmed that the Olympic events planned in the Seine would take place there. “We can assure you that triathletes will swim here and that competitions will be able to take place, he said to the press. The system is very effective, and in the event of heavy rain, the Seine can return to an acceptable level for the races.” The Béarnais puts an end to the uncertainties surrounding the «plan B»which consists of postponing the triathlon events by one or two days (July 30 and 31, August 5), “marathon swimming” (August 8 and 9) and paratriathlon (September 1 and 2), and even the «plan C»namely a relocation of the tests.

The good news has been coming thick and fast in recent days for Olympic officials: the flow of the Seine, swollen by the last few rainy months, fell back below the 400 m3/second mark on Tuesday, even though it is still very far from the seasonal norms of between 100 and 150 m3/second. According to Tony Estanguet, the Seine “is perfect” to host the tests while doubts were hanging over the bacteriological quality of the river. The results of the analyses of the last two weeks were generally positive, and the content of the river in fecal bacteria E.Coli, one of the two measured to authorize or not swimming, decreases day by day.

“It’s a legacy for the next 10 years, insisted the distinguished canoeist. There will be around thirty bathing areas in Ile-de-France and three future Parisian bathing sites planned from 2025.” Parisian swimmers will indeed have to wait until next summer to discover the waters of the Seine. In total, the decontamination plan has been estimated at 1.4 billion euros, at the expense of the State and the Paris region’s local authorities.

Anne Hidalgo skillfully sidestepped questions about the country’s political news – “We collectively need the Games during this period” – and on the absence of Emmanuel Macron. The head of state, who had assured at the end of February that he would bathe in the river without specifying the date, had “denied” the mayor’s invitation, initially scheduled for June 23. “Instead, enjoy the joy of bathing in the Seine.”she dodged.

Anne Hidalgo (top), alongside Tony Estanguet (bottom). Kai Pfaffenbach / REUTERS

Cautious onlookers

This unusual commotion brought a swarm of onlookers to the quays of Célestins and Anjou, on the island of Saint-Louis. Opinions are mixed, but surprise dominates. “This is huge… What a sketch!”smiles Martin, on his bike. Further on, Simone denounces “a publicity stunt when the country has other priorities”. “She’s really at home”Patrick jokes before heading off to work.

Amar and Claire, a retired Parisian couple, have been watching for several minutes the dozens of licensed swimmers who have thrown themselves into the water after the officials have passed by. “If we had known that we could also swim, we would have taken out our swimsuits”Amar slips. “Won’t we have to wait for the medical checks?”his partner replied, before continuing: “I want to see what people are going to swallow while they’re swimming. The weather is nice right now, it’s tempting, for sure, but isn’t it just visual?” Her husband leans over the edge of the docks and looks at the riverbank, asking “if the rats are still there”. “I still have huge doubts about the decontamination, he brows in a soft voice. And then there are issues that have not been addressed: the monitoring of these bathing areas and the presence of catfish, which are numerous in the Seine.”.

On the Sully bridge, Alain is enjoying his week off before taking up his position as a volunteer for the Games, at Bercy in the Accor Arena. Coming from Toulouse, this thirty-something with a defined figure has already swum in the Garonne, “just as visually disgusting (sic)”Seeing this commotion just a few meters away makes him want to take a dip in the coming weeks. “There are specialists who are there to tell us whether it is dangerous to swim or not, estimates this regular swimmer. It remains a mythical river. If they say we can go there, we will go!” This amateur triathlete will be looking ahead to the Olympic event on July 30. “I practice in open water, but I would find it great to do it in the Seine, he says. A century ago, no one would have imagined a marathon in the streets of Paris. So why not a triathlon?

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