Pollution levels in the Seine were so high that French Sports Minister Emilie Oudea-Castera decided to swim in it two weeks before the Olympics, a Mediapart investigation has found, based on documents from the Ile-de-France health directorate seen by the French investigative website and kept secret throughout the tournament.
On July 13, the minister described the waters of the Seine River after swimming in it as “clean.”
Mediapart wrote that the Seine's waters may have been clear but were certainly very dirty, recalling how analyses of samples collected by the health directorate of the Ile-de-France region (and the capital Paris) on the sidelines of the Games showed levels of pollution that made it unsuitable for swimming in the river on the day the minister swam.
According to the website's report, on July 13, bacterial contamination exceeded the permissible levels by 63% at the Invalides Bridge in the 7th arrondissement of Paris (where Castera swam), and the rate of enterococci exceeded the specified ceiling. In addition, the results of samples taken at 3 other points near the site designated for water sports also exceeded the permissible limit.
Health hazard
Mediapart said the Ile-de-France Health Directorate said bacterial contamination and the presence of enterococci are evidence of contamination with human waste, and are “indicators of a health risk” and could also be an indicator of the spread of pathogenic germs such as hepatitis A or SARS-CoV-2.
The main cause of the severe pollution levels recorded on July 13 was the heavy rainfall in Paris on July 11 and 12, when the levels of bacterial and enterococcal contamination were very severe according to samples taken at midday on July 12. The picture did not improve much in the following hours, and the warning indicators remained red when samples were taken for the second time at midnight that day, as the bacterial contamination rate was nearly double the permissible level at the level of the Pont des Invalides, and close to double at another point. However, the minister decided to swim in the river 7 and a half hours later.
In its response, the minister's office said it was based on a positive opinion issued by the Ile-de-France Health Directorate on July 12.
last minute
But Mediapart says that this opinion was written in haste and sent at the last minute (when it is customary to send it days in advance) to the prefect of Île-de-France, and indicated that the French triathlon team for people with disabilities could train on July 13, and made no mention at all of the minister’s presence, even if it was mentioned that two companions could join the French competitor, represented by Alexis Hanquecon.
Hankecon dived with the minister in a move closer – according to Mediapart – to media promotion than to an exercise, especially when he later stated, “Many will be surprised when they discover that the Seine is far from being dirty.”
Although the Ile-de-France Health Directorate said on July 12 that the samples taken between early June and July 11 did not allow for a complete picture, it warned that the quality of the Seine's water over this period remained inadequate at the level of the water sports site, results it attributed to the unfavourable weather conditions prevailing in June, and stated that the river's water quality levels remained highly variable and controlled by weather conditions.
Although the tests were negative from June 1 to June 26, an improvement was recorded starting on June 27 and continuing until July 9, with pollution levels remaining below the ceiling for 8 days, before the warning indicators rose again on July 9 and 10, becoming “very bad” and then stabilizing the following day, with the exception of the “Alma Bridge” point.
The Health Directorate estimated that the triathlon team for people with special needs could train on July 13, but included conditions, including taking a shower with disinfectant soap and launching a media campaign warning of the dangers of swimming in the river.
The health director recalled the necessity of stopping the exercise if there were storms or heavy rains on the eve of the exercise or on the day itself. However, surprisingly, according to Mediapart, this opinion was issued on July 12, a day when the directorate knew that it had rained heavily in Île-de-France, resulting in a significant increase in pollution levels, as was actually documented by the city of Paris and the Île-de-France prefecture in a bulletin they issued the following week, indicating that the storms and heavy rains that fell between July 11 and 12 had damaged the quality of the water.
The Health Directorate also recommended that participants address the general population in a media message to remind them that “swimming in the Seine remains prohibited,” which completely contradicts the statements of the Minister who said after emerging from the river, “Here we are, ready as we promised.”
Political competition
Mediapart suggests that the minister wanted to preempt Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo, who oversaw a $1.5 billion Seine clean-up project.
Hidalgo swam in the river on July 17, with the participation of the prefect of the Île-de-France region, the president of the Olympic Committee, Tony Estanguet, some journalists and elected officials. She did so after a positive opinion from the Île-de-France health directorate, also on July 12, stating that it did not object to organizing this promotional swim.
The directorate said the water quality was “insufficient” between early June and July 11 at the point where the promotional dive was held. However, it indicated that there was a tendency to improve from the end of June, stressing that its opinion was subject to the prevailing weather conditions before the dive and the health measures followed by the participants.
But samples taken on July 17 at the minister's swimming site later showed bacterial contamination levels that were about 9% above the set limit, but slightly below the International Triathlon Union's standard, allowing Anne Hidalgo to declare the river clean.
In another opinion on July 24, two days before the start of the Olympics, the directorate said it had no objection to organising triathlons and freestyle swimming in the Seine, noting the overall improvement in water quality and justifying its opinion by the “unique nature of the Olympic Games” or the fact that the athletes were in good health and had excellent medical follow-up.
But the directorate attached conditions to its opinion, including the necessity that the results of the analyses at any of the four points (designated for taking samples) near the competition site should not exceed the specified ceiling, a condition that the minister publicly ignored when she insisted on organising the mixed relay race in the triathlon, even though the results of the water analyses near the competition site were negative.
The French elected officials also ignored, Mediapart concludes, the directorate’s recommendation to launch a media campaign targeting the general public to remind them that swimming remains prohibited. “We have succeeded,” President Emmanuel Macron wrote in a letter on July 31, saying that the massive investment in the Seine had made swimming possible. “In four years, we have achieved what had been impossible for a hundred years.”