Bathing in the Seine was officially banned in 1923, but until the 1960s were always necessary, which were looking for his pleasure from cooling and bathing from the absence of alternatives.
In fact, this is new, that now it is officially permitted, as previously announced the mayor of Paris and President Jacques Chirac. He could not keep his promise of the election. Prior to this, he needed an extensive reconstruction, including a giant pool of rainwater fees in the case of a storm.
The round cost 1.4 billion euros in the round, so this prestigious project was only some sufficient before the 2024 Olympic Games. A year later, bathing is possible not only for official and Olympic athletes, but also for the population.
Big crowd
In advance for interested parties: three river baths, whose use is free, lie opposite the Ministry of Finance in the library of Francois Mitterrand, and then downstream in the center opposite the island Il-Louis and the third near the Eiffel Tower near the Bir-Heykim bridge and the port of de Grenell. The Saint-Martin channel offers the fourth opportunity north of the city center.
The first and reasonably satisfactory test was held a year ago with swimming competitions at the Summer Olympic Games. The wide distrust of hygiene was not completely cleared at that time, since this preliminary premiere was supposed to be postponed for several days from the absence of water hygiene.
But now people were already in line in the morning, they wanted to be in the first in order to be able to use this historical opportunity, perhaps, one day, to be able to tell their children or grandchildren: “I was then!”.
They had to accept the waiting time for 30 minutes or more, because the number of baskets surrounded at the same time, in the relatively small ones and a bong under the supervision of the “Council of Lifgar” (in accordance with the inscription on yellow T-shirts), was allowed.
Rules are still hardly applied
In the lower part of the open pool in the port -de -Grenell, a maximum of 200 people can have fun in water at the same time. You must be at least 1.40 meters high, so this is at the entrance, and the supervisory personnel should control the suitability for swimming. On this first day, however, this was still improvised, the respondents did not ask anyone about the physical or sports condition.
In any case, this Saturday morning goes away, because the mayor of Paris Ann Idalgo appears with other officials to look at the beaches. Unlike the Olympic Games, Idalgo himself does not jump into the water. The official inauguration on the edge of the pelvis does not want to leave it to others.
“If necessary, I wait all day,” jokes New Zealand Francis, who visits Paris with his Australian friends Adam and did not want to miss this historical premiere.
Secile, who lives in Paris, was waiting for the discovery for several weeks. If the quality of water and the weather allow this, he wants to swim regularly here.
Water quality: good
Gilham from the suburbs of Genneville with his 6- and 4-year-old sons sailed in his comrades. He was well informed because his wife works in the town hall of Paris.
His experience is invariably positive: “I was able to swim, the boys also enjoyed the controlled children’s pool. By the way, the water is quite warm, I would say 26 degrees. ” On the sign at the entrance there is information of the day: partially sunny, 25 degrees, water quality, good, current 91 cubic meter per second.
You can begin the bathing season: from the raft in the pool, some swimwear jump into the water, all floating people have an easily recognizable yellow plastic bag filled with air, which they had to attach to the thigh with the help of a cord.
Around the pool, deck chairs on a slightly oscillating wooden grate are installed around the rowing. Photography and filming of the mass media from all over the world from the shore. The fact that the Paris Plague Leisure campaign was a virtual beach without water in recent years has already gone the past.
