Nearly 100,000 people have taken a dip at three River Seine bathing sites in Paris since their July opening, with authorities extending the swimming season, the city's mayor said on Wednesday, August 27.
The Seine reopened to swimmers last month, marking the first time since 1923 that bathers could take the plunge in the waterway following a years-long clean-up effort. The sites were scheduled to close at the end of August, but Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo said two would remain open longer to meet strong public demand.
"Nearly 100,000 swimmers have already enjoyed swimming in the Seine this summer, and in light of this exceptional success, I have decided to extend the opening," said Hidalgo on the social media platform Bluesky.
One site just steps away from the Eiffel Tower will remain open until September 7, and the largest bathing area, located in the city's Bercy neighborhood, will welcome swimmers until September 14, the mayor said. A third, near the Île Saint-Louis island, in central Paris, will close on August 31 as planned.
"This is great news for everyone who made it their summer spot – and a last chance for those who haven't yet gone for a swim," Hidalgo said. The turnout has silenced naysayers, city official Pierre Rabadan told reporters. "Two months ago, everyone was saying no one would come, that it wouldn't work," he said.
But the 100,000 mark, expected to be reached by the end of the week, shows the reopening of the Seine to swimmers has met "a real demand," he added, with Parisians seeking relief on hot days. Keeping the sites open into September is expected to cost €330,000. Rainfall forced the swimming sites to shut down for about two weeks in July, including just one day after the river's triumphant reopening.
On rainy days, Paris's 19th-century sewage system has often overflowed, sending rain and wastewater into the Seine. A retention basin designed to contain the excess runoff has not spilled over into the Seine during the summer months, Rabadan said in early August. The opening of the Seine for swimming is seen as a key legacy of the Paris 2024 Olympics, when open-water swimmers and triathletes competed in its waters, which were cleaned for the event. Ahead of the Olympic Games, authorities spent approximately €1.4 billion to improve the Seine's water quality.