With less than two months until the start of the Paris Olympic Games, there are many people, especially in France, who are worried about something that has little to do with the level of athletes, the records that will be broken or which country will win the race. mostly gold. His attention is focused on Sena. Or rather, its waters. While France wants to give the river a leading role during the Olympic event and has invested good money to make it happen, there are many voices questioning the “health state” of the river.

To dispel doubts, the mayor of Paris and the president of France plan to imitate Fraga and dive into the water at Palomares. The problem is that there are people who have very different plans: Take advantage of the same day to defecate against the tide.

Seine River under review. That the Seine is a river full of corners instagrammable no one doubts this. Cleaning it is another story. A year ago, organizers decided to cancel the Paralympic triathlon and World Open Water Swimming Cup swimming tests, both planned to be held on the River Seine, because their analysis did not reach the required minimum health standards. “The quality of the water remained below acceptable levels for the health of swimmers,” the federation said. This wasn’t even 11 months ago.

In recent months, the Surfride Foundation France has carried out new bacteriological analyzes and obtained “alarming” measurements, with fecal waste concentrations allegedly “above recommended thresholds”. The situation is such that swimming in the Seine River, which passes through the French capital, has been prohibited since 1923. Figaro Note that at the time this decision was made mainly due to risks in river traffic.

river of the Olympic Games. Despite these precedents, France wanted Sena to take part in the Paris Olympic Games. And it certainly plays no small role. The idea – at least as of today – is that during the opening ceremony, 10,500 athletes will parade through the waters in boats representing each national delegation. Let’s not forget to mention that Sena will host a swimming marathon and take part in Olympic and Paralympic triathlons.

Millions of rain… and efforts. French officials did not hesitate to do their best to comply with these predictions. There is talk of a 1.4 billion euro project aimed at guaranteeing good water quality during the Olympic Games and returning the Seine River to Paris residents; this idea has been on the table for decades, at least since the time of Jacques Chirac. Mayor of the capital in the late 1980s.

A month ago, officials, including Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo; The French Minister of Sports and the head of the Olympic organizing committee inaugurated in Paris a huge reservoir specially created to improve the quality of the Seine River. The pond, which was dug near Austerlitz station and has a capacity equivalent to 20 Olympic swimming pools, was designed to collect excess water from rain and prevent the remaining liquid from being discharged into the river.

But will it be enough? At the time of the opening of the reservoir, the governor of the Paris region, Marc Guillaume, spoke of a “joint success” and assured that the quality of the Seine River would be sufficient for the Games. Neither his words nor those of other French officials served to dispel doubts about whether the Seine River was the best option for athletes. Australia has already offered its athletes measures to ensure their health during testing, such as antibacterial solutions for eyes and skin and medications to prevent intestinal problems.

This is not the only decision that reveals that the quality of the Seine River’s water is still in doubt. Yesterday, Radio France announced that the French open water swimming team had decided to postpone the training planned for Monday in the Seine. The reason is the low quality of water and the high flow rate of the river, which caused the sewers to overflow after the rains in May.

Following Fraga’s example. If Manuel Fraga has proven anything with his very famous baths at Palomares, it is that an image is worth a thousand words, or in this case a thousand promises about the health of the water. The French authorities followed their example and decided to dive into the Seine and remain silent.

At the beginning of the year, President Emmanuel Macron assured that he would bathe in the river, although he did not specify a date, and recently the mayor of Paris promised to enter the waters of the river together with the Governor of Paris. Paris police and governor of the Île-de-France region. And in his case, a very specific date is specified… and very soon: Sunday, June 23, Olympic Day.

Will Macron attend? The news was also echoed in the country’s main media. Le Monde And Le ParisianWhen the news broke weeks ago, a telling thought crossed his mind: Macron himself could join the pool of authorities on the Seine. The Paris newspaper tried to confirm the news with the leader’s cabinet but received only two opinions from the Elysee Palace: first, that they could not advance Macron’s agenda so far in advance; second, that the President will “swim in the Seine” to coincide with the Games.

Instant recalculation. Yesterday Le Parisian It updated its own information and, citing the France-Presse agency, announced that the Hidalgo dive date could be postponed for the same reasons that the French swimming team will not be able to swim in the Seine on Monday: May rains.

In any case, the Paris newspaper claims that the mayor will test the quality of the River Seine on his own body. And in fact, the most likely date for it to spread to the media is June 30. The promise of Macron and even the IOC president, who has shown his willingness, is still on the table.

“I’m going to shit in the Seine”. Anne Hidalgo, the region’s officials, the IOC president and even Macron may suggest bathing in the River Seine to dispel doubts about the quality of its waters, but in France there are those who have a quite different idea in mind: What to do? They suggest that defecation is against the flow. Really.

For this purpose, they implemented the slogan “Je Chie Dans La Seine Le 23 Juin”, which can mean “I will shit in the Seine River on June 23”. The date, of course, is not a coincidence: it coincides with the day on which it was announced that Hidalgo and other authorities in the Seine would be washed. Whether Chanza is vindication or political activism, one thing is clear: Regardless of the success of the idea, its proponents have struck a chord.

A calculator for “gifts”. The hashtag #JeChieDansLaSeineLe23Juin has been circulating on X, TikTok and Instagram, and Yahoo! News or SBS News. Moreover, a website has even been created with a countdown and a special calculator that allows you to calculate how far in advance you need to go to the toilet in the Seine, so depending on the point at which you do this, your “gift” will arrive. Paris in time for the event on Sunday, June 23.

Time will tell whether the supporters of the project will re-evaluate the 23rd date and, of course, whether the proposal will remain on paper as a challenging idea or will be put into practice. So far they have achieved one thing: focusing (even more) on the quality of the Seine and its regeneration process.

Who’s behind? This question was recently asked on France 3, but did not receive much of an answer. They state that the first message was published on:

“It could be a large account spreading it, or it could be a viral movement where smaller accounts share it before resharing it themselves. It could be something that happens every day because of a community, political or not, addressing the issue,” analyst Flef Graph comments to the network.

The Graph recalls that the first tweet was shared nearly 16,000 times in a very short time. And he points out: Although this is not a striking fact. However, the expert is cautious about the success of the search. “A real movement will initially reach 50,000 to 100,000 messages, then quickly reach a million.”

Pictures | J. Shim (Unsplash)

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