France’s Sports Minister Amélie Oudea-Castellas swam in the Seine on Saturday, raising hopes that the river would be clean enough for athletes to swim in when the Paris Olympics begin in less than two weeks.
The 46-year-old accompanied paratriathlete Alexis Encancan, flag bearer for host country France, at the Paralympic Games opening ceremony on August 28.
Weather permitting, the river will be the centrepiece of the Olympic opening ceremony on July 26, before hosting the triathlon and open water swimming events.
Udea Castella, wearing a bodysuit, slipped while wading into the Seine, attracting the attention of Anne Hidalgo, the mayor of Paris, with whom he is notoriously bad friends.
Hidalgo said he plans to swim on July 17 if the water quality is good.
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Oudaire Castellas took the chance to take a dip in the Seine, filmed exclusively by news channel BFMTV, the day after Paris city hall said the river had been clean enough to swim in for most of the past 12 days.
City hall official Pierre Rabadan told broadcaster RFI that water quality had met standards for “11 or 10” of the past 12 days.
Heavy, unseasonable rains in the Paris region in recent weeks have caused untreated sewage to flow into the river, raising pollution levels in the Seine.
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“We hope the weather will be a little bit better, but we’re not worried about the possibility of the competition going ahead,” Rabadan said. “The competition will go ahead.”
But he added that “modifications” may be necessary, without giving details.
The weather in Paris is expected to be mostly sunny for the final 14 days before the Olympics begin.
December/PTA/PI/ACH
