Seine makes a splash with record 120,000 swimmers

More than 120,000 people took a dip in the Seine this summer, setting a record for Paris’ recently reopened public swimming areas.

The figure represents a 20 percent increase from 2025 as Parisians and tourists sought relief from the summer heat, including a heatwave that hit the French capital.

Paris operates three free swimming areas along the Seine: Grenelle near the Eiffel Tower, Bras Marie in central Paris and Bercy in the east.

Public swimming in the Seine had been banned since 1923 because of pollution, heavy river traffic and safety concerns.

The swimming areas reopened in 2025 following a massive cleanup tied to the 2024 Paris Olympics, during which the Seine hosted triathlon and open-water swimming events.

Authorities invested about €1.4 billion in efforts to improve the river’s water quality, including infrastructure designed to prevent untreated sewage from spilling into the Seine during heavy rainfall.

Among the projects was a massive underground rainwater storage basin near Austerlitz station capable of holding tens of thousands of cubic meters of stormwater.

Safety measures remain in place at the public swimming areas, including limits on the number of people allowed in the water at a time. Swimmers are also provided or required to use flotation equipment at designated sites.

Authorities conduct regular water-quality testing, with swimming temporarily suspended when pollution levels exceed health and safety standards.

The growing number of swimmers marks a dramatic turnaround for a river where taking a dip was prohibited for more than a century.