Murky waters: Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo fulfills Olympic pledge by swimming in river Seine

Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo sought to prove a point Wednesday: She took a dip in the murky waters of the Seine to show to the world the river is clean enough for outdoor swimming events at the Olympics.

Hidalgo was filmed splashing into the Seine in a shorty wetsuit and goggles nine days before the Games' opening ceremony. She was accompanied by Tony Estanguet, a former Olympic canoeist and the president of the Paris Olympics organizing committee. They swam in a stretch of the river near the Notre Dame Cathedral.

Before taking the plunge, Hidalgo's office released a statement saying the swim demonstrated "the efforts made by the city and the state to improve the quality of the Seine's waters and the ecological state of the river."

Hidalgo had promised to clean up the often-polluted Seine in time for the Games. She had originally intended to show it was ready for the triathlon and marathon swimming legs of the Olympics by bathing in it last month alongside French President Emmanuel Macron. The long-awaited dip was cancelled because tests revealed high levels of bacteria. Macron also had another excuse: He had called a snap election amid a political crisis.

Separately, France's Sports Minister Amelie Oudea Castera swam in the Seine on Saturday. France has invested about $1.5 billion to prevent sewage leaks into the waterway.

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Lionel Cheylus from Surfrider Europe, a clean-water campaign group, said in a WhatsApp message that the latest tests appeared to indicate the river was "swimmable." Still, Macron was nowhere to be seen Wednesday.

Macron's pledge to swim in the Seine with Hidalgo to prove its cleanliness had sparked an online campaign: JeChieDansLaSeine . This translates to, "I'm pooping in the Seine." Some in France are angry at Macron for agreeing to host the Olympics while the country struggles with high inflation and the rise of right-wing political forces. Protesters threatened to defecate upstream, hoping the Seine's currents would deliver their message.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Murky waters: Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo fulfills Olympic pledge by swimming in river Seine