Parisians are still hesitant to take a dip in the Seine despite a massive €1bn clean-up operation organised ahead of the Olympics, MailOnline has learned.
Locals said they still believed the river was “dirty” and dismissed the idea of swimming as “crazy” when asked, amid concerns about water quality in the capital.
This came after the men’s triathlon event was postponed due to poor water quality, after tests on the river “did not provide sufficient guarantees” for the event to go ahead.
Although World Triathlon said water quality had improved, it was forced to push the event back to Wednesday in the latest blow to organisers after an awkward start to the Games marred by bad weather and criticism over the opening ceremony.
France has spent more than €1bn (£840m) cleaning up the river in preparation for the Games, but locals remain unconvinced the water is safe to swim in.
Shaka Ponk singer Frah told MailOnline he thought the idea of taking a dip in the river was “crazy”.
He said without a doubt that he would not swim in the river, despite efforts to clean it up.
Training for the Olympic triathlon event in Paris has been cancelled in recent days.
MailOnline spoke to Shaka Ponk singer Frah in the French capital as the event was postponed due to concerns over water quality.
Asked if he would swim in the river, he said: “No, it’s crazy.”
“I think it’s dirty.”
When asked what could be living in the river, a second person said: “Everything is dirty: rats living inside.”
He added that he would consider swimming in the river for a million dollars.
Others were more convinced and showed faith in the local administration’s efforts to make the river safe for swimming.
“I think it’s pretty clean,” a third person told MailOnline.
‘Pollution was not a major problem for Paris. Now it is.
“We have to be happy about this, about what the city has done for its people.”
Paris has spent a small fortune trying to clean up the river that runs through the capital ahead of the Olympic Games.
This included building a huge reservoir to capture excess rainwater and prevent waste from flowing into the river.
Before the renovation work, bathing in the Seine had been prohibited for a century because of its filth.
Pierre Rabadan, deputy mayor of Paris in charge of the Olympic Games, described the clean-up operation as “our contribution to the future.”
“When people see athletes swimming in the Seine without any health problems, they will have confidence to swim in the Seine again,” he said.
Another local took a look at the water with MailOnline and said it was still full of filthy stuff.
But for a million pounds, perhaps some could be persuaded to enter the water.
The operation was a colossal effort that made great strides towards improving water quality and rekindled hopes that improvements were possible after Jacques Chirac, the then mayor, failed to clean the river enough for swimming in 1990.
But despite the improvements, heavy rain in the days leading up to a competition can still cause levels of harmful E. coli bacteria to rise.
Heavy rains can cause problems with wastewater and water velocity.
In April, a French water charity detected “alarming levels of pollution”, raising fears the river would not be ready in time.
The Surfrider Foundation took 14 samples of the Seine over a six-month period and found the water to be potentially dangerous in all but one of its tests.
Measurements of E. coli and enterococci, bacteria that indicate the presence of fecal matter and can cause serious illness, were found to be double and sometimes triple the maximum permitted amounts.
And over the weekend, Tony Estanguet, the head of Paris 2024, told a news conference he was still “very confident” the Seine swim would go ahead.
But Friday’s results showed the river, celebrated for its romantic views, still fails water quality tests.
Parisians had threatened to defecate in the river in protest against the French government on June 23, but it is unclear whether such acts were carried out.
Many are angry that so much money has been spent on cleaning it up, with seemingly little effect.
President Emmanuel Macron and Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo have vowed to swim in the river to demonstrate their safety as the row threatens to undermine confidence in organisers.
Triathletes’ swim training was cancelled on Sunday and Monday and the decision was made to move the men’s race, which was due to start at 8am local time on Tuesday, to Wednesday.
A World Triathlon statement said next Friday remains a contingency day if one or both races cannot take place.
“Tests carried out today on the Seine have revealed that the quality of the water does not offer sufficient guarantees to allow the event to take place,” the statement said.
‘Despite the improvement in water quality levels, values at some points along the swimming course are still above acceptable limits.’
Open water swimmer Leah Crisp revealed last week that she and her competitors were worried about the race taking place on the River Seine and hoped there would be a “plan B”.
