--- description: For 100 years, swimming has been banned in the Seine due to high levels of E. coli and pollution. title: Watch the Transformation of this Polluted Paris River image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3894c3b2dd49994e/698a3b13457a52ef67d6765a/GettyImages-1150600834.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Climate](/section/climate/) ## Climate Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Watch How Paris Plans to Make This Polluted and Iconic River Swimmable Again  by [Andrew Johnson](/author/andrew-johnson/)  ## Andrew Johnson Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 13, 2023 4:44 PM CUT  Getty Images—Alexander Spatari  by [Andrew Johnson](/author/andrew-johnson/)  ## Andrew Johnson Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 13, 2023 4:44 PM CUT ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/6262339/seine-history-video/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/6262339/seine-history-video/"},"headline":"Watch How Paris Plans to Make This Polluted and Iconic River Swimmable Again","datePublished":"2023-03-13T16:44:27.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-24T15:34:13.890Z","description":"For 100 years, swimming has been banned in the Seine due to high levels of E. coli and pollution. Officials say they are trying to return the river to its past glory by making it swimmable in time for the 2024 Olympics.","url":"https://time.com/6262339/seine-history-video/","keywords":["News"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3894c3b2dd49994e/698a3b13457a52ef67d6765a/GettyImages-1150600834.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Andrew Johnson","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/andrew-johnson/"}],"articleSection":"Climate","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3894c3b2dd49994e/698a3b13457a52ef67d6765a/GettyImages-1150600834.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Eiffel Tower and Seine river at sunrise, Paris, France","caption":"Eiffel Tower and Seine river at sunrise, Paris, France","creditText":"Getty Images—Alexander Spatari","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/climate/","name":"Climate"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/6262339/seine-history-video/","name":"Watch How Paris Plans to Make This Polluted and Iconic River Swimmable Again"}}]}] ```