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.
Rainy season spells misery for hundreds at Myanmar camp for displaced — Radio Free Asia
He's 31 points helps Shenzhen beat Tianjin in CBA
China take three golds at Badminton Asia Championships
Chinese athletes preparing for 2026 Winter Olympics
Lottie Moss sends temperatures soaring in red semi
Universal Beijing Resort debuts new Chinese
8th Happy Ice and Snow Season kicks off in Beijing World Park
China sees 52.7 mln domestic tourist trips over New Year holiday
Mississippi lawmakers move toward restoring voting rights to 32 felons
Democrats seek to seize control of deadlocked Michigan House in special elections