Monday, 25 May 2026
An empty boat travels the River Seine during the technical test event last week for the Paris 2024 opening ceremony. Catherine Steenkeste/Getty Images
River Seine welcomes swimmers once again after a century-long ban
PARIS - For the first time in over 100 years, the River Seine in Paris reopened to swimmers on Saturday, drawing eager crowds to its waters ahead of the official opening, France24 reported.
Saturday morning marked a historic moment as Parisians and tourists alike were invited to take a dip in the French capital’s legendary river—the first such opportunity since 1923.
This summer, locals and visitors hoping to beat the heat can swim at three designated spots along the Seine, including one just steps from the Eiffel Tower, provided the weather allows.
At the Bras Marie site in the city’s historic heart, several dozen swimmers gathered before the 8am (0600 GMT) start, plunging into the river as lifeguards, donned in bright yellow T-shirts and armed with whistles, monitored the long-awaited event.
Opening the Seine for seasonal swimming is seen as a major legacy of the Paris 2024 Olympics, where open-water swimmers and triathletes competed in waters that underwent extensive cleaning for the games.
The newly established bathing areas offer changing rooms, showers, and beach-style amenities, with space to accommodate between 150 and 300 people—giving city dwellers a welcome escape to relax and enjoy the riverbank.
To ensure swimmers’ safety, Paris officials have introduced daily water quality checks and a swim assessment for anyone hoping to take the plunge.
“This is a childhood dream come true—seeing people swim in the Seine,” said Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo, who visited the Bras Marie swimming site on Saturday morning.
Despite the excitement, authorities reminded the public about certain hazards, such as strong currents, passing boats, and an average water depth of 3.5 meters (11 feet).
“The Seine can be dangerous,” emphasized local official Elise Lavielle earlier in the week.
To reduce risk, lifeguards will evaluate each bather’s swimming abilities before permitting unsupervised swimming, and new rules issued in late June enforce fines for those entering the water outside authorized zones.
The push to repeal the swimming ban dates back to 1988, when Jacques Chirac, then Paris mayor and later French president, first championed the idea, decades after the 1923 prohibition.
“One of my predecessors, then-mayor Chirac, dreamed of a Seine open to swimmers,” President Emmanuel Macron shared on X, applauding the moment as the outcome of “collective effort” and a source of “pride” for France.
In preparation for the Olympics, the city invested approximately €1.4 billion ($1.6 billion) to upgrade the quality of Seine’s water.
Upstream projects—including 2,000 new connections to the sewage system—promise even greater improvements, though heavy rain remains problematic.
On wet days, Paris’s mid-19th-century sewage network often overflows, sending stormwater and waste into the river.
To keep swimmers informed, daily flags will indicate water quality, and according to city official Pierre Rabadan, bathing sites will likely close the day after rainfall due to increased pollution risks.