The French capital's iconic waterway has been largely closed to swimmers since 1923 due to pollution and risks from river navigation.

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.

First, France cleaned the polluted river so that Olympians could swim there. Now, a year later, it is opening three sites for locals to plunge in.