Taking to the water in the heart of Paris has never been so popular... The experiment in swimming in the Seine, launched this summer at Bercy, Bras Marie and Grenelle, was due to end at the end of August. In view of the success of the experiment, and despite the vagaries of the weather in July, the Paris municipal authorities have decided to extend the event into September!
While the Bras Marie site closes this Sunday, August 31, the Grenelle site remains open until September 7, and Bercy until September 14. In addition, Anne Hidalgo has announced a final weekend of swimming- subject to good weather, of course - at Bercy, on September 20 and 21, to mark the Journées du Patrimoine.
With July closed for thirteen days due to rain and August under the sign of the heat wave, visitor numbers exploded. During the week of August 15 alone, 23,500 bathers took advantage of the pools, confirming the popularity of this new leisure facility. In total, over 75,600 people have already taken the plunge, far exceeding initial expectations.
Pierre Rabadan, deputy mayor of Paris in charge of the Seine, told Libération that " proof by example is the best solution ", pointing out that many doubted the feasibility of such a project. The de-pollution of the Seine, financed to the tune of one billion euros for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, is now bearing fruit, with water quality sufficient to authorize bathing under supervision.
And after 2025? One thing is already certain: the initiative will be renewed in 2026. Some thirty towns in the Greater Paris region have also applied to host supervised bathing areas along the Seine, notably in the Hauts-de-Seine region. The deputy even anticipates some adjustments, notably the relocation of the Bras Marie site, whose opening hours are still restricted by river traffic.
Swimming in the Seine, the symbol of a successful gamble for the capital, could therefore become an enduring summer fixture, well beyond the summer of 2025.
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