Parisians will be able to swim for a second year in the Seine
Paris will reopen official swimming spots in the Seine for a second summer after last year’s historic comeback. The Marne in the suburbs will also host swimmers again.
Intelligence analysis by GPT-5.4 Mini
City officials say the Seine bathing season will resume on July 4 at three sites, extending last year’s reopening that followed a major cleanup effort before the Olympics. Attendance was strong in 2025 despite rain-related water-quality disruptions.
Paris is letting people swim in the Seine again, like reopening a city pool that was closed for a very long time. Officials cleaned the river and are setting up safe places with lifeguards, but rain can still make the water less safe.
Analysis
A second summer in the Seine
Paris officials say people will once again be allowed to swim in the Seine this summer, marking the second year of the river’s reopening after a century-long ban. The city plans to open three official bathing sites on July 4: Bras de Grenelle near the Eiffel Tower, Bras Marie near Notre-Dame, and Bercy in eastern Paris.
The reopening follows a years-long cleanup effort that cost more than a billion euros and was carried out in part to make the river suitable for the 2024 Olympics. Last summer, the Seine was opened to swimmers for the first time in 100 years. According to the city, about 100,000 people lined up to swim despite a slow start caused by rain and water-quality problems.
The wider river plan
Swimming will not be limited to Paris itself. The Marne river in the suburbs will again host bathing spots in Joinville-le-Pont, Champigny-sur-Marne, Saint-Maur-des-Fosses and Maison-Alfort. A new site will be added this year in Neuilly-sur-Marne, northeast of Paris.
Authorities also warned people not to swim in parts of the rivers where there are no lifeguards. That caution suggests the project is still being managed as a controlled public-health and safety exercise, not a free-for-all. The article presents the reopening as both a symbol of success and a reminder that weather and safety can still affect whether the experiment works smoothly.
Key points
- Paris will reopen three official swimming sites in the Seine on July 4.
- The reopening follows a major cleanup effort tied to the 2024 Olympics and last summer’s first swim season in a century.
- About 100,000 people used the Seine bathing sites last year, according to the city.
- Swimming will also return to several Marne river sites in the suburbs, with one new location added this year.
- Authorities warned that unguarded parts of the rivers remain unsafe for swimming.
If the season goes well, the Seine could keep proving that a heavily polluted city river can become a usable public space again. Strong turnout would also support the idea that the cleanup effort has created a lasting legacy beyond the Olympics.
Rain and water-quality swings could still disrupt swimming, just as they did last year. If people ignore the guarded sites and swim elsewhere, safety problems could undermine confidence in the program.
