Is it possible to swim in the Seine? Olympians hope to inspire tourists

euronews (in English)

Ahead of triathletes swimming in the Seine, water quality tests repeatedly found unsafe levels of E.coli and other dangerous bacteria lurking beneath the surface.

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00:00Paris residents and tourists have shared their thoughts on whether or not they would swim

00:04in the Seine River.

00:06Olympic triathletes swam in the Parisian waterway on Wednesday after days of delays and uncertainty

00:11over water quality concerns.

00:13Organisers say the latest tests of the famed river showed compliance with quality standards.

00:19The announcement came after elevated levels of bacteria delayed the men's triathlon race

00:23from Tuesday.

00:24I don't know, I'm a bit of someone who thinks water can be dirty.

00:29I think we swim in here and there can be little things touching your legs, but I don't know.

00:33If they test it and they say it's okay, I will trust the professionals, but I'm not

00:38sure if I would swim in it.

00:41While some visitors are not keen on the idea, others say they would be happy to swim in

00:44the river.

00:45Yeah, I would, because I also swim in, when it's hot, when the weather is hot in Amsterdam,

00:51I also swim in water over there, so yeah, it's good, yeah, I would.

00:57Officials hope that after so many years where swimming in the Seine was unthinkable, Parisians

01:01and visitors alike will start to feel that it's safe to go back in the water when they

01:05see Olympians and Paralympians leading the way.

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