Paris mayor dips into Seine River to showcase improved cleanliness before Olympics
After months of anticipation, Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo took a dip in the long-polluted Seine River on Wednesday, fulfilling a promise to show the river was clean enough to host open swimming competitions during the 2024 Olympics 바카라 게임 웹사이트 and the opening ceremony on the river nine days away.
Video above: Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo swims in France's River Seine to dispel fears of pollution
Clad in a wetsuit and goggles, Hidalgo plunged into the river near the imposing-looking City Hall, her office, and the Notre Dame Cathedral. Paris 2024 chief Tony Estanguet and the top government official for the Paris region, Marc Guillaume, joined her, along with swimmers from local swimming clubs.
바카라 게임 웹사이트The Seine is exquisite,바카라 게임 웹사이트 said Hidalgo from the water. After emerging, she continued to rave, 바카라 게임 웹사이트The water is very, very good. A little cool, but not so bad.''
It바카라 게임 웹사이트s part of a broader effort to showcase the river바카라 게임 웹사이트s improved cleanliness ahead of the Summer Games which will kick off July 26 with a lavish open-air ceremony that includes an athletes바카라 게임 웹사이트 parade on boats on the Seine. Daily water quality tests in early June indicated unsafe levels of E. coli bacteria, followed by recent improvements.
Swimming in the Seine has been banned for over a century. Since 2015, organizers have invested $1.5 billion to prepare the Seine for the Olympics and to ensure Parisians have a cleaner river after the Games. The plan included constructing a giant underground water storage basin in central Paris, renovating sewer infrastructure, and upgrading wastewater treatment plants.
Video below: Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo speaks after taking a dip in River Seine
Originally planned for June, Hidalgo바카라 게임 웹사이트s swim was postponed due to snap parliamentary elections in France. On the initial date, the hashtag 바카라 게임 웹사이트jechiedanslaSeine바카라 게임 웹사이트 (바카라 게임 웹사이트I바카라 게임 웹사이트m pooping in the Seine바카라 게임 웹사이트) trended on social media as some threatened to protest the Olympics by defecating upstream.
That didn't deter Hidalgo, who carefully entered the river Wednesday using a ladder on an artificial pond, set up for the event. Seven security boats were deployed for the occasion.
They swam down the river for about 100 meters, switching between crawl and breaststroke.
The upper banks were crowded with curious spectators.
바카라 게임 웹사이트I wouldn바카라 게임 웹사이트t have missed that for anything in the world,바카라 게임 웹사이트 said Lucie Coquereau, who woke up early to get the best view of Hidalgo바카라 게임 웹사이트s up from the Pont de Sully bridge that oversees the swimming site.
Video below: Olympics: CNN reports from middle of River Seine
Other politicians have promised to clean up the Seine. Jacques Chirac, the former French president, made a similar pledge in 1988 when he was Paris mayor, but it was never realized.
Hidalgo followed in the footsteps of French Sports Minister Amélie Oudéa-Castéra, who swam in the Seine on Saturday wearing a full-body suit.
Concerns over the Seine바카라 게임 웹사이트s flow and pollution levels have persisted, prompting daily water quality tests by the monitoring group Eau de Paris. Results in early June indicated unsafe levels of E. coli bacteria, followed by recent improvements.
The Seine will host several open water swimming events during the Games, including marathon swimming at the Olympic Games and the swimming legs of the Olympic and Paralympic triathlons.