Paris Olympics Opening Rehearsal Cancelled Due To Dangerous Water In Seine

(Photo : Getty Images/Aurelien Meunier)

Less than a month before Paris Olympics 2024, there is some uncertainty revolving around a couple of games, for example the opening of the Olympics because the river Seine has continually remained polluted due to continuous sewage pollution.

Some of the games, including the triathlon and the 10 kilometers freestyle, are scheduled to take place in the river. After this year's game, there are intentions to revoke a 100-year ban and maintain public swimming in the Seine.

Fecal Germs

For the opening ceremony, the international Olympic delegations will cruise the river on boats. However, the scheduled rehearsal was canceled due to dangerously high levels of fecal germs in the water.

Concerning amounts of enterococci and E.coli bacteria were found in samples obtained from the Seine between June 18 and June 20, surpassing the limitations imposed by athletic authorities.

Ten times as much E.coli was present in the water above the World Triathlon Federation's maximum threshold, and during the test period, levels never dropped below the threshold.

The enterococci also exceeded a concentration of 1000 colony-forming units (cfu)/100 ml at the Alexandre III bridge, the intended triathlon swimming site. This is more than twice the 400 cfu/100 ml limit imposed by European law.

Testing the waters again, Lionel Cheylus of the environmental non-profit Surfrider Europe pointed up the possible existence of more toxins. The continuation of the Games depends on the bacteria being eradicated.

Swimming governing organization World Aquatics canceled the Open Water Swimming World Cup last year because they found that the standard of the Seine's water "was still not considered safe enough for the health of swimmers."

Heavy rainstorms cause a jump in water pollution, and in recent weeks, the river's flow has increased to about six times its seasonal average, according to Paris's mayoral service.

Declining Quality

On June 23, Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo and embattled French President Emmanuel Macron were supposed to swim in the Seine to demonstrate that it is safe to swim in. Both politicians however withdrew due to "political reasons."

The hashtag, #JeChieDansLaSeineLe23Juin, translates to "I poop in the Seine on June 23," trended online because of this.

The official river water samples had however been taken before June 23, thus the results cannot be attributed to excess impurities from unclean protests.

The protesters' key grievances include France's decision to spend €1.4 billion (over $1.5 billion) on cleaning the rivers, how it will affect public transportation as well as security while also opposing a call for snap election by President Macron which seems aimed at benefiting the far-right National Rally party.

The quality of water is still worsening in Paris because of the increase of rainfall, high flows, little sunshine, below-seasonal temperature, and pollution from upstream-according to a report by Parisian officials.

The river is currently flowing four to five times higher than usual due to months of rainy weather. The city's antiquated sewage system is frequently overrun by storms, resulting in the discharge of raw sewage into the river.

The organizers are hoping that enough dry weather and sunshine will arrive over the next three weeks to bring the germs down to manageable levels.