-OpEd-
PARIS — The Mayor of Paris‘ office is launching a citizens’ convention to protect the “rights of the Seine.” Are we moving toward attributing a legal person status to the Seine River? What exactly are we trying to do? Protect the river, yes, but from what?
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Everyone agrees that the water of the Seine should be as clean as possible. But it would be reasonable remember that the river is not intended for purely recreational use.
Seine’s dual identity
Is the Seine a navigable waterway or a swimming pool? The river became a swimming pool during the 2024 Summer Olympics with beautiful images of athletes promoting the city of Paris. But that moment should not make us forget the reality.
In the absence of rainfall, the water of the Seine is swimmable for only very short periods of time. That was possible during the Olympics thanks to an effective treatment of water discharged into the Seine with a chemical, performic acid, a powerful disinfectant obtained from hydrogen peroxide and by prohibiting river traffic.
A 1.5 billion euro project
Let’s not forget that the Seine is a navigable waterway that crosses a metropolis of several million residents, collecting runoff from the riverbanks and docks with each rain. The barges and Bateaux-Mouche sightseeing cruises do not clean their feet in a pédiluve before entering the water. And their propellers churn up the bottom of the Seine, bringing a whole additional batch of microorganisms of all kinds.
All this is not enough to give the Seine the same water quality as a swimming pool that is open to the public year-round. The water in a navigable waterway, even when “decontaminated,” does not meet the strict hygiene standards of a swimming pool.
Will Paris go without its Bateaux-Mouches for a few wetsuit-clad swimmers?
Have we forgotten that all river swimming areas were closed because it was impossible to guarantee consistent bacteriological quality? Over the last century, those facilities were replaced with actual swimming pools.
River vs. pool
Everything that ensures pool water complies with current health regulations cannot be applied to a navigable waterway. Will barge traffic on the Seine be reduced to allow swimming? Will Paris go without its Bateaux-Mouches for a few wetsuit-clad swimmers? Reason would dictate answering no.
From this confusion between a pool and a waterway, two positive outcomes can be noted. The first is the connection of the last stubborn stationary barges to the wastewater network, aligning them with current practices.
The second is the steep cost of those photos and videos featuring officials or athletes. Over 1.5 billion euros was spent to make river water swimmable a few days a year — a luxury primarily financed through debt. That sum is equal to the cost of building more than 100 energy-efficient municipal pools.
