French Sports Minister takes a dip in the Seine 13 days before the 2024 Olympics

French Sports Minister Amélie Oudéa-Castéra bathed this Saturday in the waters of the Seine, in the heart of Paris, a highly symbolic gesture in view of the imminent Olympic Games, which begin in thirteen days.

Oudéa-Castera, equipped with a wetsuit, swam for a few minutes in an area marked by buoys near the historic Pont Alexandre III.

The swim took place in the company of Alexis Hanquinquant, Olympic paratriathlon champion and standard-bearer of the French delegation to the Paralympic Games.

“It’s been fabulous, total happiness, it’s been great”, the French minister told RMC radio following emerging from the water, which was also “very warm, at 20 degrees.”

“Commitment fulfilled,” he proclaimed, referring to the objective of all administrations to make the waters of the Seine suitable for the hosting of some Olympic events.

Political wink

As well as being symbolic in terms of the safety of the Seine waters for swimmers, today’s swim is also a political gesture, as the minister has beaten the mayor of Paris, the socialist Anne Hidalgo, who had promised to swim in the river, but had postponed it until next Wednesday because the quality of the water had not improved.

The Paris City Council’s Councillor for Sport, Pierre Rabadan, announced yesterday that the waters of the Seine had been suitable for swimming for ten of the last twelve days.

“We have no concerns regarding the possibility of carrying out all the tests” planned on the river, the councillor told public radio RFI.

Rabadan recalled that there was a lot of rain in May and June, which is an unfavourable factor for ensuring that the water is of sufficient quality for bathing, because following all “the Seine is not a swimming pool”, but that the situation has improved in the last two weeks.

Evidence

The waters of the Seine are to host the swimming events of the men’s and women’s triathlons, as well as the open water marathon at the Olympic Games and the triathlon for both genders at the Paralympic Games.

After an investment of some 1.4 billion euros in cleaning up the river as it passes through the capital, the quality of the waters of the Seine was one of the main questions ahead of the Olympic Games, which begin on July 26, due to the fact that the abundant rains of recent months had affected its health.

Paris / EFE