Barely inaugurated, swimming in the Seine is prohibited
Swimmers bathe at the Bercy safe swimming area on the Seine River on its opening day in Paris, July 5, 2025. JULIEN DE ROSA / AFP
Barely inaugurated, already banned. The day after their festive inauguration, the three Parisian bathing sites in the Seine remained closed Sunday due to the rains that hit the capital, Paris City Hall announced on its website.
Due to weather conditions, the red flag was raised on Sunday morning at the entrance to the three open water swimming areas in Paris, prohibiting swimmers from accessing the pools.
"We have a protocol, which we follow to the letter, which states that if it rains more than 10 millimeters in less than 12 hours, which corresponds to intense rain, we do not open swimming while waiting for the results of the water quality," explained Pierre Rabadan, deputy for sports at Paris city hall, to AFP.
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The sites at Bras Marie (4th arrondissement, center), Grenelle (15th, west) and Bercy (12th, east) will remain closed until Monday inclusive, while the results of tests carried out on water samples are received on Tuesday morning, the municipality indicated.
The Paris Plage swimming pool located on the Bassin de la Villette (19th arrondissement) could reopen tomorrow depending on the water quality.
As for the last site located on the Saint-Martin canal (10th) which was due to welcome its first swimmers on Sunday, it also had to remain closed "due to the level of rainfall recorded, which compromises the quality of the water" , indicated the town hall of the X district, giving swimmers an appointment on Wednesday at 12 noon.
These closures, "we could have done without them, but it also proves the seriousness of the protocol and the maximum security that we have put in place around it," insisted Pierre Rabadan.
More than 2,300 bathersOn Saturday, more than 2,300 visitors were counted at the three bathing sites, according to Paris City Hall.
As on the beaches, a system of flags - green, yellow and red - established at the entrance to the sites allows you to know the flow of the Seine and the quality of the water.
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