Seine: bathing authorized at the launch of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games?

Nina Droff, edited by Alexandre Dalifard 09:16, March 15, 2023

The return of swimming in the Seine?

While the ban dates from 1923, it could again be authorized, 100 years later.

After Jacques Chirac, former mayor of Paris, Emmanuel Macron wants to take up the challenge of cleaning up the Seine and the Marne so that he can swim there.

A promise for the 2024 Olympic Games with an investment of 1.4 billion euros for a titanic project.

The water from 30,000 homes poured into the Seine

Reducing pollution in the Seine by 75% to make swimming possible is the very ambitious objective set for the Paris Olympic Games.

A challenge that requires major sanitation work, as explained by François-Marie Didier, president of SIAAP, the service that manages the quality of Ile-de-France waters.

"We have put in place means of disinfection. We will further treat this water either by chemical treatment or by ultraviolet treatment which allows us to return better quality water", he specifies at the microphone of Europe 1.

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In addition, to clean the Seine, it is also necessary to solve all the connection problems.

“We have identified around 30,000 homes that are not connected. That is to say, their water is directly returned to the Seine or the Marne. The competent authorities in this area ensure that all these bad connections are connected to the correct network", emphasizes François-Marie Didier.

A colossal project but the SIAAP remains confident.

"This dream should come true. There were three species of fish in the 90s. Today, there are 34 in the Seine, which means that it is still of better quality", reassures the service president.

The Seine will remain closely monitored during the Games, especially in the event of a rainy episode which could raise the level of pollution.