High divers are taking the plunge in Paris's Seine River as part of the European Aquatics Championships, marking a significant step in the city's long-standing effort to restore the waterway for public use. The competition, featuring athletes launching themselves from a 20-meter platform near the Eiffel Tower, serves as a high-profile test of Paris's ability to reclaim its river for sport and recreation.
This event comes as Paris prepares for the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games, for which the Seine is slated to host swimming and triathlon events. The city has invested substantially in improving the river's water quality, including measures to prevent sewage from entering the Seine and enhancing stormwater management.
However, the ambition faced a temporary setback when training was suspended on Thursday due to the detection of hydrocarbons upstream. By Friday, the French Swimming Federation confirmed that the affected area had been treated, allowing the competition to proceed as planned. "There are things that are within our control, and there are uncertainties that are inevitably linked to any outdoor activity," said Maxime Sauvage, Paris deputy mayor in charge of sports. "There is always a small risk, but that is also part of what makes outdoor events special. When they work, it is magical."
The European Aquatics Championships, celebrating the centenary of the inaugural event held in 1926, run through August 16. More than 1,000 athletes are competing in five disciplines: swimming, diving, artistic swimming, open-water swimming, and high diving. The Seine is central to the championships, hosting both open-water swimming and high diving events.
Swimming in the Seine was banned in 1923 due to pollution and river traffic dangers. Public swimming was only officially reinstated in 2025, following extensive efforts and investments by Paris and its partners to make the river swimmable. The goal is to transform the Seine from a waterway primarily used for commerce, tourism, and logistics into a vibrant space for swimming and sporting activities.
"For decades, the Seine was limited to economic purposes, tourism with sightseeing boats, and logistics with ships loading and unloading goods in Paris," Sauvage explained. "It was a river with high levels of pollution that also had a significant impact on its biodiversity." He added that the aim now is to add a new identity to the river without erasing its existing functions. "Paris is not just a postcard image, it is also a magnificent sporting venue," Sauvage said. "It is a city that people come to visit, but it is also a city to be experienced by bike, through running, through sport, through play and through swimming."