She really did it. Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo swam in the Seine on Wednesday, proving to haters all around the world that the river will be safe for Olympians to swim in. Clad in a wetsuit and goggles, Hidalgo told reporters from the water, “The Seine is exquisite.”
Hidalgo was scheduled to take her dip last month, but France’s snap parliamentary elections took precedence. That’s probably for the best, considering the fact that when the water was tested in June, there were still high levels of E. coli (read: poop). Last week, Paris officials announced that the water had been clean enough for swimming for several days in a row. It seems like the huge underground water-storage basin meant to collect excess rainwater and keep sewage from running into the river is working! Sure, a few rainy days and things could go south quickly, but don’t think too hard about that.
What’s important is that Hidalgo got in that damn river. According to the AP report, she swam about 100 meters, alternating between a breast stroke and a freestyle. Someone should tell Eric Adams about this, because it would be really funny if he tried to pull something like this off.
While it does seem like things went off without a hitch, it’s always good to check for another point of view. For that, let’s watch this video of CNN reporter Melissa Bell attempting to do her job while the Seine’s current tries to sweep her downstream.
"Ce n'est pas très propre mais on peut y nager." Juste après Anne Hidalgo, @MelissaBellCNN a aussi bravé le fort courant de la Seine pour son direct sur @cnni ???? pic.twitter.com/f3TmI8s9ci
She’s smiling, but that looks like it sucks. To quote Bell, “It’s not as smelly as I thought it would be and feels, not quite clean, but certainly swimmable.” That’s good enough for the Olympics!
