PARIS (AP) — Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo said she was confident water quality in the River Seine will be up to Olympic standards this summer — and that she’ll be able to prove it by swimming there, possibly alongside President Emmanuel Macron.
The Seine is the venue for marathon swimming at the Games and the swimming leg of the Olympic and Paralympic triathlons.
Asked Tuesday about whether she’ll meet her promise to swim in the Seine before the Games, Hidalgo said “for sure, because water quality will be good.”
For decades, the Seine was too toxic for most fish and for swimmers, useful mainly as a waterway to transport goods and people or as a watery grave for discarded bicycles and other trash. Swimming in the Seine has, with some exceptions, been illegal since 1923.
Hidalgo mentioned new facilities that have been specially built to clean up the river, whose water quality was recently denounced by an environmental group.
'Challengers' review: Prepare to get hot and bothered
Queen Wen majestically holds court
Invincible Qin keeps the medals flowing
Xi Extends Condolences to Moroccan King over Deadly Earthquake
Alcaraz is cautious ahead of Madrid Open. The Spaniard is not 100% sure he will play
Xi Calls for Better Integration of Modernization Process in China, Singapore
Xi Sends Congratulatory Message to China
Referee reflective during third stint at FISU event
I'm a female joiner and applied for a job at building firm... but what they said made my blood boil
World's largest wind farm begins construction