‘After the Games, we will have a swimming pool in the river’: Paris mayor takes dip in Seine amid E. coli bacteria concerns

CNN - Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo took a dip in the city’s River Seine on Wednesday in a bid to demonstrate the cleanliness of the river for the Olympics.

Triathlon events are due to start at the city’s Alexandre III Bridge later this month, but official testing by the city has shown E. coli bacteria levels have been above acceptable levels on the majority of days between June 3 and July 2, which would potentially expose athletes to serious health risks.

The 65 year-old Hidalgo dunked her head in the river as she swam Wednesday, after previously claiming the water would be “depolluted, that’s for sure.” Last week French Sports Minister Amélie Oudéa-Castéra also swam in the Seine.

“It’s very, very cool to be here and it was a dream and now it’s real … after the Games we will have a swimming pool in the river for all the people, for the Parisian people and for the tourists also,” Hidalgo told reporters after the swim.