Paris mayor to take a dip in the Seine the week of 15 July

Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo plans to swim in the Seine in mid-July, with the exact date fixed for a day between 15 July and 17 June depending on the weather, she informed the French news agency AFP on Wednesday.

Originally, the swim was planned for 23 June, a month ahead of the Paris Olympics, but had to be postponed because of powerful currents provoked by heavy rain. It was further postponed by the start of campaigning for snap parliamentary elections nearly two weeks ago.

Originally, on 10 January during her New Year's address at the Hôtel de Ville, Hidalgo pledged to swim in the Seine before the Olympic Games to demonstrate that swimming in the Seine is feasible."We'll be swimming in the Seine", she said during her address.

The Games begin on July 26th.

Several events at the Games are due to take place in the Seine, including the open water swimming races and the triathlon.

Historic gesture

Paris town hall remains confident that these events will be held and that the Seine will be swimmable.

Hidalgo said her Seine swim comes "more than 30 years after Jacques Chirac's promise".

In 1990 the former French president, then mayor of Paris, promised to "bathe in the Seine in front of witnesses".

However he never went ahead with the dip.

Read more on RFI English

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