Unsafe levels of E. coli found in Paris' Seine River under 2 months before Olympics

Water in the Seine River had unsafe elevated levels of E. coli less than two months before swimming competitions are scheduled to take place in it during the Paris Olympics, according to test results published Friday.

Contamination levels in the first eight days of June, after persistent heavy rain in Paris, showed bacteria such as E. coli and enterococci beyond limits judged safe for athletes.

The report was published by monitoring group Eau de Paris one day after a senior International Olympic Committee executive said there were “no reasons to doubt” races will go ahead as scheduled in in a historic downtown stretch of the Seine near the Eiffel Tower.

rxbudian,

That would keep them from getting eaten by the shark hiding in the catacombs

lennybird,
@lennybird@lemmy.world avatar

My wife is pretty well-traveled and said she’d never go back to Paris, for it was one of the dirtiest cities she visited. Combine this with the bedbug pandemic they’re going through now and you literally couldn’t pay me to go.

gmtom,

You didn’t even mention the other infestation that are far dirtier and more disgusting than the bedbugs… the French.

Socsa,

Apparently the bedbug thing was mostly a Russian information warfare campaign.

lennybird,
@lennybird@lemmy.world avatar

According to Reuters, the issue is real but Russia certainly amplified the news heavily and tried to erroneously link it to Ukrainian refugees.

reuters.com/…/russian-disinformation-hyped-paris-…

Prior_Industry,

Is this the Russians again?

Dearth,

It’s the French, actually. Disgusted by the amount of money their goverment is spending on the Olympics, they’ve started a “shit on the seine” campaign. Some have even created a website so french who dont live on paris can calculate when to shit in their local warterways so their turds end up in the water when Macron and the mayor of paris take their publicity dunk in the Seine

tal,
@tal@lemmy.today avatar

Setting aside the water quality of the Seine, why are they swimming in an unchlorinated body of water in the first place? Has that happened before?

kagis

Apparently this is part of a PR campaign for Paris or something, as they had this big push to reduce sewage in it to the point where it could be used for the Olympics. And it sounds like this is the first time that they’re doing it in a river:

nbcsports.com/…/paris-olympics-seine-river-swimmi…

Paris’ Seine River, forbidden for swimmers for 100 years, gets Olympic reboot

By OlympicTalk

Published April 11, 2023 04:17 AM

Because as well as hosting outdoor swim races, the Seine is going to be the centerpiece of Paris’ unprecedented Olympic Opening Ceremony. For the first time, it will take place not in a stadium setting but along the river and its banks.

So it needs to be ready. Officials have been going after homes upstream of Paris and houseboats on the Seine that were emptying their sewage and wastewater directly into the river. An Olympic law adopted in 2018 gave moored boats two years to hook up to Paris’ sewage network. Sewage treatment plants on the Seine and its tributary, the Marne, are also being improved.

I wonder if they have swimming pools designated for use as backups if this doesn’t work out?

kagis

Apparently yes (no for an alternate location, but if the water quality is unacceptable, they plan to just defer the swimming races until it becomes acceptable):

nytimes.com/…/paris-olympics-seine-cleanup.html

But Rabadan also said there was no alternate plan: If the races must be postponed, organizers will simply wait a few days, test the water quality and try again.

ahal,

Certain events like marathon swimming and triathlon can’t be done in a pool.

PunnyName,

Shit River!

Davel23,

Le. Coli, in French.

WashedOver,
@WashedOver@lemmy.ca avatar

I saw a crazy Instagram video where the citizens are upset they are only trying to clean up the river for the Olympics not for the people that live there. They were trying to start a viral campaign to have everyone Sh8t in the river after the clean up is done.

disguy_ovahea,

Not just after the cleanup is done, but specifically right before Macron and Hidalgo swim in it as PR to prove it’s fit for olympians. Parisians are the best.

timeout.com/…/why-are-parisians-planning-to-poop-…

FlyingSquid,
@FlyingSquid@lemmy.world avatar

Hidalgo, like a moron, gave a date when she would swim. Then they announced the shit in the Seine thing, so… she announced another date.

Macron won’t announce a date. And I’m betting neither of them will ever get their toes wet anyway.

grue,

the citizens are upset they are only trying to clean up the river for the Olympics not for the people that live there

But they are trying to clean it up for the people that live there, though? I’d heard that it’s supposed to remain clean after the games and that they’ll be opening swimming areas for the general public and stuff.

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