This is one of the many unknowns of the Paris Olympic Games: will the athletes be able to compete in the competitions taking place in the Seine, such as the triathlon or open water swimming?
The organizers assure that this will be possible, but several athletes still have doubts.
Last August, a swimming test event was canceled because the level of water pollution was too high.
Five months before the Olympics, work continues to clean up the river, on which the opening ceremony will also take place.
This Thursday, on the occasion of the inauguration of the Olympic village, Emmanuel Macron raised this thorny issue, congratulating the work carried out to make the Seine accessible to swimmers.
“I’m not going to give you the date, you might be there”
“For Parisians, there will also be an important legacy on the developments, in particular the Seine,” he rejoiced to journalists.
We know that for the Seine and the Marne, there was an extraordinary investment which was made by the municipalities, by the State, the regional prefecture was very involved in the subject by coordinating all the actors.
For Ile-de-France residents, we will have the river and the Marne which will have changed their face and use the next day.
And it's great.
»
And the President of the Republic did not stop there.
Asked about a future swim in the river, Emmanuel Macron assured that he would do it.
“And how yeah!”
There were commitments made, he replied, with a smirk.
I do, I will go.
But I'm not going to give you the date, you might be there.
»
A promise which joins that of Anne Hidalgo in January, who assured: “we will swim in the Seine”.
The appointment is therefore made.