Paris (AFP)
The Seine is the least attractive French river for swimming and 70% of French people have a bad image of it, according to a survey by the Ifop institute published Thursday three years before the Paris Olympics, horizon of the town hall to make the Seine swimmable.
According to the study, only 12% of French people would like to bathe in the Seine, against 27% for the Loire, the most attractive river in this area ahead of the Garonne (25%), the Rhône (20%) and the Rhine ( 19%).
If the Seine is "emblematic" of the capital for two thirds (67%) of the people questioned, as many (70%) have a negative image of it and a minority (32%) considers it "realistic" to allow as many people as possible to bathe in the Seine in secure areas.
The young adventurer, aged 20, is the son of the mayor PS Anne Hidalgo, who is committed to improving the quality of the river water "to be able to bathe there in 2024 and especially after", by way of "heritage" of the Olympics.
The open water events and the swimming portion of the triathlon must take place in the river.
The "bathing plan" launched in 2018 to restore Seine and Marne "to their good ecological condition" and allow bathing there has been endowed with 1.4 billion euros, funded by the State and communities.
Among its main challenges, the compliance of the collection of wastewater, notably via the end of "bad private connections" upstream of the capital.
The Seine information and assessment mission (MIE), which will present its report to the Paris Council in July, recommends making the replacement of these 35,000 non-compliant private connections mandatory "with a limited liability for owners ".
© 2021 AFP