“Liberty, equality, curiosities”: a summer to take the plunge in the Seine
Starting July 5, three swimming areas will be created on the Seine in Paris. This is the culmination of a massive project. For over a hundred years, diving in the river has been illegal. But will the enthusiasts turn out? wonders the Belgian newspaper Le Soir.
How many will be donning their swimsuits this summer? Will the Seine be invaded by swimmers like the ring road by cars during rush hour, or will the waters be shunned by Parisians and tourists? That's the great unknown.
On the banks, those we met recently were rather grimacing at the idea of diving into the river. “To catch bacteria and ruin my vacation? No thanks!” grimaced a Belgian woman passing by. But who knows? These same people were also sulking at the Olympic Games last year before the cauldron, once lit, took the city into an enchanted summer interlude…
Starting July 5, three swimming areas will be set up. Access to each area is free. The largest will be located across from the Bibliothèque nationale de France, near Parc de Bercy. Three hundred people will be able to cool off there, not to mention the 400 who can lounge on a solarium. The second will open near Île Saint-Louis.
The last one, almost opposite the Eiffel Tower, will be installed at the height of the Île aux Cygnes. The Paris Plages project has never been so aptly named. Swimming spots will also be developed on the Marne (the main tributary of the Seine), notably in Joinville-le-Pont, the bucolic den of open-air cafés.
This is the culmination of a huge project co-financed by the State and the City. It's been almost ten years since the Seine sanitation work began. It took €1.4 billion to meet this challenge. Last year, the athletes and para-athletes of Paris 2024 were the first to take the plunge . But the promoters of this crazy project assure us: the water quality will be even better than during the 2000 Olympic Games.
Courrier International
