Overview
- A decree published in the Journal officiel and applied nationwide took effect on Sunday, August 2, 2026, upgrading bathing in prohibited areas to a third‑class contravention and setting the flat fine at €68.
- The new rule covers swimming or nautical activity in zones subject to prohibition, swimming when a red flag is displayed, and breaches of specific police regulations.
- Police may issue the €68 fine directly via an electronic procès‑verbal; the penalty replaces the previous first‑class fine that carried a maximum of €38 and reflects a shift from largely pedagogical responses during heatwaves.
- Officials say the change responds to a rise in informal river and canal bathing during recent heatwaves and to public‑health reports of several hundred drownings this summer, figures that prompted the Paris Préfecture to push the measure nationally.
- Paris and some local authorities are also testing supervised bathing zones such as Récollets, a move that could reduce risky swims while the tougher sanction serves as a deterrent and may lead to more regulated safe‑swim offers.