The Olympic Games in Paris begin in two weeks – and some competitions are to be held in the Seine. However, there have always been problems with the water quality. France's sports minister has now ventured into it.
Around two weeks before the start of the Olympic Games in Paris, France's Sports Minister Amélie Oudéa-Castéra took a dip in the Seine. The minister entered the water not far from the Pont des Invalides. She was accompanied by para-triathlete Alexis Hanquinquant.
With the PR campaign she wanted to show that the river was clean enough. However, the entry did not go as planned – Oudéa-Castéra slipped on the slippery stones.
The triathlon and open water competitions at the Olympic Games are to take place in the Seine. Those responsible are therefore nervous about the water quality.
His recently fulfilled requirements
According to the new analysis of water quality presented by the city, which takes into account the period up to Tuesday, it now complied with the regulations for holding Olympic competitions on six of the last seven days measured. More than 80 percent of the water analyses were therefore compliant with the limit values. Heavy rain caused local deterioration in water quality, both in Paris itself and in the upper reaches of the river, from where contamination reached the capital.
“We hope that the weather will improve a little, but we are not worried about the organization of the competitions,” Pierre Rabadan, deputy mayor of Paris, who is responsible for the Olympic Games, told broadcaster RFI.
The mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, plans to jump into the Seine on July 17, if the water quality continues to allow it. She originally wanted to jump into the expensively cleaned Seine on June 23, but the results of the water tests at the time were too poor.
If the water quality is too poor during the Olympic Games, it is being considered to postpone the relevant competitions by a few days.
