The only alternative in case of pollution of the Seine during the Olympic Games (July 26 to August 11) and the games that will be held there, is to “postpone” them for a few days, such as confirmed the prefect of the Ile-de-France region, saying that “there is no plan B” on this.

“Cojo (organising committee) has always said there was no plan B in terms of the location of these games,” Marc Guillaume told reporters.

In early August 2023, the dress rehearsal for the open sea swimming events turned into a… nightmare for the organizers, who were forced to cancel it due to the river’s water quality limits being clearly exceeded, following a very heavy rainfall episode.

In a recent interview with the French news agency (AFP), current Olympic champion Ana Marcelia Kunia did not hide her “concern”. “But the organizers insist they want the games to be held there,” he said, demanding “a plan B in case it’s not possible to swim” in the Seine.

“We are working to ensure that the races will take place on the Seine,” replied Marc Guillaume. “If the water samples to be taken in the Seine show that we have difficulties, we have to postpone the games for a day or two,” he said.

Scheduled between the Alexandre-III Bridge and the Eiffel Tower, the triathlon (July 30 and 31, August 5) and open sea swimming, now called the swimming marathon (August 8 and 9), are still threatened by heavy rains that they will degrade the water of the Seine.

For a decade, the state and local authorities in Ile-de-France have invested 1.4 billion euros in works intended to make the river accessible for swimming to the general public, in designated and safe locations, the day after the Olympics.