Paris, May 16, 2025: In a bold and symbolic move that underscores the city’s commitment to reclaiming its iconic river for public use, Paris will open three swimming areas in the Seine starting July 5 — just weeks before the Summer Olympic Games.
The project, hailed as a legacy of the Paris 2024 Olympics, was officially unveiled by Mayor Anne Hidalgo during a press conference on Wednesday, May 14, following a steering committee meeting on water quality in the Seine and Marne rivers.
The most ambitious of the three sites is set beneath the Simone-de-Beauvoir footbridge in the 12th arrondissement, directly across from the French National Library and below the Parc de Bercy.
Still under construction, the site currently features a floating barge with a towering green crane and massive steel dolphin structures embedded into the riverbed, signaling the transformation underway.
This location — once inconceivable as a spot for leisurely breaststrokes and sunbathing — will soon host up to 700 swimmers and sunbathers at a time. The site includes two designated swimming basins measuring 67 and 35 meters in length, and 11 and 12 meters in width, respectively.
Designed to be half the width of a standard Olympic pool, the dimensions accommodate both swimmers and river traffic.
The area will be cordoned off by pontoons, creating pool-like boundaries along the quay, while a safety slide installed on the dolphin structure will protect swimmers from passing vessels.
Access to all three swimming sites will be free and open daily throughout the summer as part of the city’s annual “Paris Plages” initiative, which runs from July 5 to August 31.
The Bercy site stands out as the only location offering continuous swimming hours from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., making it the flagship of the city’s riverfront transformation.
The two additional swimming spots will be located in the Marne River — in Le Perreux-sur-Marne and Nogent-sur-Marne — also part of the greater Olympic urban improvement plan. Both will be inaugurated this summer, with similar safety and accessibility measures in place.
The initiative is the culmination of more than a decade of environmental and infrastructural efforts aimed at cleaning the Seine, which had been deemed unsafe for bathing for over a century.
Significant investment has been made to improve wastewater treatment and stormwater overflow systems in preparation for the Olympic triathlon and open-water swimming events planned in the river.
“This is not only a promise kept to Parisians but also a testament to what is possible when environmental policy and public space planning go hand in hand,” said Mayor Hidalgo.
With water quality testing to be conducted daily and lifeguards on duty, city officials are confident that these sites will remain safe for public use throughout the summer.
For many residents, the return of swimming to the Seine is more than a novelty — it represents a historic re-connection between Parisians and their storied river.
This article was created using automation technology and was thoroughly edited and fact-checked by one of our editorial staff members
