Sat Jul 05 10:53:23 UTC 2025: **Summary:**
After a century-long hiatus, Paris has reopened the Seine River for public swimming. This initiative, driven by the Paris Olympics, involved extensive cleanup and infrastructure upgrades. Three designated swimming sites within Paris are open to the public, with more planned outside the city. Authorities are monitoring water quality daily to ensure swimmer safety.
**News Article:**
**Seine River Reopens for Public Swimming After Century-Long Ban**
**Paris, France – July 5, 2025** – In a historic moment, Parisians can once again swim in the Seine River. After a massive cleanup effort spurred by the Paris Olympics, authorities have officially opened the iconic waterway for public swimming for the first time since 1923.
Three designated swimming areas along the Seine’s banks within Paris are now accessible to the public, welcoming over 1,000 swimmers daily until August 31st. This initiative follows years of investment in improving the Seine’s water quality, including connecting homes to the sewer system, upgrading treatment facilities, and building rainwater storage reservoirs.
“We’re especially happy to have proved the skeptics wrong,” said Pierre Rabadan, Paris deputy mayor for the Seine river, celebrating the accomplishment.
The reopening follows the successful use of the Seine for Olympic events last summer, despite earlier concerns regarding water quality after heavy rains. Daily water quality tests will be conducted, with a flag system indicating whether swimming is safe.
“Obviously, if we open the swimming area, it is because the water complies with the regulations; it poses absolutely no danger to the people who go swimming,” Rabadan told Reuters.
Beyond the city limits, plans are underway to establish 14 additional swimming areas on the Seine and Marne rivers, further expanding recreational opportunities for residents.
First Piper 