Paris Opens Supervised Bathing Zone in Canal Saint‑Martin

Overview

• The city, which opened the supervised zone on Wednesday, June 17, runs it each day from 16:00 to 20:00 in a roughly 100‑metre stretch at the bassin des Récollets in the 10th arrondissement.
• Authorities have installed lifeguard supervision, a pontoon, police presence and a 300‑person capacity limit, and officials say water quality will be checked daily to decide whether to allow bathing.
• The municipality has made swimming illegal outside the delimited spot in the Seine and canals and issued access restrictions for some footbridges including the Jane‑Birkin and Emmanuelle‑Riva passerelles.
• City officials describe the measure as temporary and weather dependent and plan to add further delimited bathing zones in the Canal Saint‑Martin, the Seine and the bassin de la Villette from July 4 if operational and environmental conditions permit.
• The policy responds to repeated heatwaves and viral videos of unsupervised dives by offering a safer cooling option for residents while accepting added costs and logistical limits for short‑term public health management.