Paris mayor swims in Seine amid sewage concerns

The Mayor of Paris has taken the plunge, and decided to show her faith in the city’s waterways by swimming in the River Seine, to prove the water is clean enough to host the outdoor swimming events at the upcoming Olympics. Clad in a wetsuit, Anne Hidalgo braved the murky waters, her stunt coming just nine days before the Olympic opening ceremony. She didn’t dive in, however, given that two bikes and a scooter had just been fished out of the water, so better safe than sorry. The cleanliness of Paris’ waterways has long been a source of consternation for officials. In June, unsafe levels of E. coli bacteria were found in the Seine, as well as concerning levels of pollution from Paris’ 19th-century sewage system. What’s more, protesters have been actively threatening to poop in the river to protest the Olympics. All this on top of long-running general pollution concerns have led to the Seine not exactly being a number one swimming destination. So - E. coli, human poop and scooters. Will this year’s Olympics include an aquatic obstacle course?