Paris opened up the River Seine for public swimming on Saturday (July 5) for the first time in over a century, with dozens of people seen eagerly wading into the long-polluted waterway at a designated site, Reuters reports.
Bathing in the Seine has been banned since 1923, with promises to restore water quality going back to 1990, when then-Paris mayor Jacques Chirac — later French president — vowed to make the river safe for swimming again.
Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo and France's sports minister, Marie Barsacq greeted swimmers at the site, one of three designated swimming areas along the Seine. The pair were later seen filling bottles with water from the river before holding them up for the cameras.
France has spent at least 1.4 billion euros ($1.6 billion) turning a river frequently laden with sewage into one clean enough to swim in. Olympic events were held last year in the Seine, and Paris hopes holding outdoor swimming events in the waterway will demonstrate its transformation to a global audience.
