The residents and tourists in Paris take advantage of it in the rise of temperatures – Chicago Tribune
Por Sylvie Corbet
Paris (AP) – Swimming in Sena is an increasingly popular tourist attraction in the French capital and an essential activity for the Parisians themselves. Thousands of people have experienced a dive in the river since three public bathing sites were opened last month, the first in more than a century.
Bath areas should be even more filled with the arrival of a heat wave in the region on Tuesday. The French weather service, Meteo France, put Paris on a “maximum alert” for temperatures that could reach up to 38º Celsius (100 ° Fahrenheit).
In the Grenelle region, west of Paris, visitors swim and swing with a unique view of the Eiffel Tower, with small fish swimming near the surface.
The quality of the water is analyzed daily to comply with European regulations. Swimming in the Seine had been illegal since 1923, with a few exceptions, due to pollution and risks posed by river navigation. The new bathrooms are possible thanks to a cleaning of 1.4 billion euros ($ 1.6 billion) which made them adapted to Olympic competitions last year.
“Imagine,” said Constanze Martens, a tourist from Mexico. “Swim for the Eiffel Tower and natural, clean, safe and with all these adorable people too. There are people of all ages.”
Monday, the water temperature in the Sena was 22 ° C (71 ° F).
“It is quite hot, warmer than the sea, which was quite surprising and is very pleasant,” said Elisabeth Lorin, from Montreuil, an oriental suburb of Paris.
Until the end of August, the bathing areas will be open free of charge in the schedules provided for anyone over 10 or 14, depending on the location. The details are on the website of the city of Paris, also in English. Each swimmer must transport a yellow buoy attached to the size for safety reasons. There are changing rooms.
The enclosure receives between 800 and 1,200 visitors per day, with a limit of 200 people simultaneously, said the director of facilities in Grenellle, Yann Forest.
The deputy mayor of Paris, Pierre Rabadan, said last week that more than 40,000 people had swam in the bathing areas since its opening on July 5 and that despite almost two weeks of closings due mainly to the rains, which increases the contamination of upstream water.
“Right now, the water quality is excellent and we have optimal conditions with a hot climate,” Rabadan told the Associated Press on Monday. He said the daily decision to open the bathrooms depends on the weather and the factors such as the river flow and any known pollution.
Several rescuers look at the areas and sometimes use their whistles to remember swimmers who do not jump or leave the perimeter. No significant incident has been reported, said Rabadan.
Marina Gicquel, a 22 -year -old rescuer in Grenelle, said that the main difference with a swimming pool is the current of the river, in addition to cloudy water.
“We see people’s heads. That’s why the buoys are useful,” said Gicquel. “And it is also quite deep. It is 3 to 5 meters (from 10 to 16 feet) deep, so people find no support.”
Some visitors, such as the Australian Thurkka Jeyakumar, were skeptical about swimming in the Seine, citing the troubled water color and bacteria problems.
The dangerous levels of E. Coli or other bacteria appear for prolonged precipitation, which saturate the pipes, carrying no wastewater towards the river instead of a treatment plant. Last year, some Olympic competitions were delayed for this reason.
In the end, Jeyakumar tried because he lost a bet.
“For the moment, I must say that it was much more pleasant and clean than I thought,” he said. “So the bet went well!”
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The journalist of the Associated Press Nicolas Garriga contributed to this office.
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This story was translated from English by an AP publisher with the help of a generative artificial intelligence tool.
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