For the first time in over a century, Parisians and tourists will be able to take a refreshing dip in the River Seine. The long-polluted waterway is finally opening up as a summertime swim spot following a 1.4 billion euro ($1.5 billion) cleanup project that made it suitable for Olympic competitions last year.
Three new swimming sites on the Paris riverbank will open on Saturday — one close to Paris’ Notre Dame Cathedral, another near the Eiffel Tower and a third in eastern Paris.
Swimming in the Seine has been illegal since 1923, with a few exceptions, due to pollution and risks posed by river navigation. Taking a dip outside bathing areas is still banned for safety reasons.
It’s been in the work for quite a while. The mayor of Paris announced that the seine will be open for swimming in 5 years … In 1988.
So it took a bit longer than planned, almost 50 years instead of 5 but the fact that they are opening it now is the result of these 50 years of continuous improvement.
1988 wasn’t almost 50 years ag… Shit.
Wait, I messed up. It’s almost 40 years ago, not 50
Closer to 50 than to 5, that’s for sure.
No thanks I’ll stick to my local secret lake that nobody shits in
Jokes on you, I’m already there, shitting.
Move over I was shitting here first.
Can we hold hands?
Why not, let’s show that turd who’s boss.
OK I’m on my way to literally murder you so you have ten minutes to clean up or else
I assume embarrassment on the world stage helped move this along given the Olympics?
Who knew anything good could result from the Olympics
Friends with a pool had a sign saying “don’t pee in our pool, we don’t swim in your toilet”. In Paris however…
Really hilariously stupid that it took a goddamn sporting event for them to even try to clean up this river
Great to see the Seine finally reopened for swimming after a century! A €1.4B investment in clean water and public access is a win for both the environment and city life. Hope other major cities follow Paris’s lead.
Reason #4,538 why I’ll never live in or near a large city.
You won’t live near cities that clean up their waterways? You could rival Michelin publishing that list of reasons you have.
My local waterways aren’t so fucking filthy that swimming has been banned for a century. We spent the 4th happily boating (electric!), swimming, fucking around on the local river, no thoughts of foul water.
Neat
