Horrible water quality made it illegal to swim in the Seine for more than a century, but the Olympics pushed forward to hold all of its open-water swimming events in Paris as planned last summer. Locals were allowed to enter the water on Saturday for the first time since 1923.

The poop smell was “barely noticeable” as they beat the heat with a legal dip in the so-called “river.”

First of all, the Seine “River” is not actually a river once it reaches the capital of France. Paris’ iconic body of water is a drainage basin at its core. All kinds of trash and debris frequently washes up on the shore and/or floats right through the heart of the city. It’s pretty gross. This photo was captured in August:

If that was not bad enough, literal feces and urine leaks into the Seine. Paris’ ancient infrastructure cannot handle heavy rains so the sewage system under the city seeps through cracks and into the basin.

It was illegal to swim in the Seine for more than 120 years because of the poor conditions. The water was contaminated by high levels of bacteria, mostly E. coli. That is not the case in other parts of the country like Burgundy. Water quality is a problem specific to Paris!

France spent $1.5 billion to try and clean up the Seine before the Olympics so it could host the open-water swimming events in the famous body of water. The efforts were not a complete and total failure but they were most certainly not a success.

Practice was canceled on the days leading up to the events because of bacteria. Fecal matter posed a legitimate health risk to the athletes. Triathlon medal contenders were furious with the Olympics for using athletes as “puppets” during the sewage disaster. Swimmers were forced to dodge unidentified “brown things” during the open-water competitions. Multiple athletes fell ill after the races. Disgusting!

The Seine in Paris is open to the public.

Three new swimming sites on the Paris riverbank officially opened to the public on Saturday, almost one full year after the problems at the Olympics. The general population can legally swim in the “river” for the first time since 1923. One location is close to the Notre Dame Cathedral. Another is near the Eiffel Tower. A third is in eastern Paris.

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Authorities gave the green light for the historic swim because water quality results were in line with European regulations. Water is tested daily to confirm it is safe to swim. A green flag on the beach means the water quality is good enough to swim. A red flag means it is not good or there is too much current.

I would not want to swim in a body of water that may or may not be safe depending on the day— but that’s just me. Many Parisians jumped into the Seine on Saturday morning.

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According to the Associated Press, conditions were much better but still not great.

Floating debris still bobbed here and there — a stray leaf, a plastic wrapper — but the smell was barely noticeable: no strong sewage odor, just an earthy, river-like scent.

— Tom Nouvian of the AP

Hard pass! I would much prefer to swim in a body of water without any debris. A “barely noticeable” odor does not excite me. I will wait to swim in a body of water without an odor. François Fournier would agree.

I won’t risk it, quite frankly. I’ve seen things you can’t imagine floating in the Seine, so I’ll wait for it to be really squeaky clean.

— François Fournier, via the Associated Press

Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo stood at the bank of the Seine as it opened to the public with a transparent bottle filled with water from the “river” as a show of confidence. However, French president Emmanuel Macron has yet to make good on his promise to swim in the Seine. You won’t catch me in it either!

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