Paris has been working on cleaning up the Seine so that people can swim in it again, as was the case during the 1900 Paris Olympics. Former Paris Mayor Jacques Chirac in 1988 promised he would swim in the Seine “in the presence of witnesses”, but his plunge never materialised.
The city has built a huge storage basin capable of holding 46,000 cubic metres of waste water before it flows through a tunnel to a treatment plant. When the water meets the required health criteria, it will then be poured into the Seine.
If the river is not deemed to be suitable, organisers have contingency plans: the marathon swimming event will take place at Vaires-sur-Marne, where the rowing and canoeing events are held, and the triathlon will be turned into a duathlon.
Jenn Fluet, a 21-year-old tourist visiting from New York, said Hidalgo was brave. Asked if she would follow suit, Fluet said: “Hell no! It’s dirty.”
Quentin Mazars, a 33-year-old swimming club member who joined Hidalgo in the Seine, said he “was careful not to swallow any water”.
Pierre Suzeau, a 66-year-old member of an outdoor swimming group, emerged from his dip energised.