Swimming in the Seine had been illegal since 1923, with a few exceptions, due to pollution and risks posed by river navigation.

Parisians rushed for a dip in the Seine on Saturday as the authorities opened the river to public swimming for the first time since 1923 after an extensive clean-up operation spurred on by it being used as a venue in the Paris Olympics.

The River Seine in Paris has reopened publicly to swimmers for the first time since 1923 after a century-long ban. The seasonal opening of the Seine for swimming is viewed as a key legacy of the Paris 2024 Olympics, when open water swimmers and triathletes competed in its waters which were specially cleaned for the event.