French sports minister swims in Seine ahead of Olympics

The Star

French Sports Minister Amelie Oudea Castera took the plunge and swam in the River Seine in Paris on Saturday (July 13), in a publicity moment that French authorities hope will show the capital's river is clean enough and ready to stage swimming events at the Olympic Games.   Read more at https://tinyurl.com/3mscr4d6  WATCH MORE: https://thestartv.com/c/news SUBSCRIBE: https://cutt.ly/TheStar LIKE: https://fb.com/TheStarOnline

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00:00French Sports Minister Amélie Oudéa-Castérat took a symbolic swim in the river's sand

00:07on Saturday, aiming to demonstrate the river's readiness for Olympic swimming events.

00:12It's an indescribable emotion. In fact, we were dreaming of it, we were waiting for it.

00:17A monumental work has been done for years, by a whole group of people, and we're going

00:22to make it. Thanks to the Games, we're going to be at the rendezvous of this swimmability.

00:27Filmed by BFM TV, Oudéa-Castérat swam near the Alexandre III and Invalides bridges. The

00:34Seine will host the triathlon and marathon swimming events during the Olympics from July

00:3826 to August 11, marking the first time it has been used for the Games since 1900. Paris

00:43Mayor Anne Hidalgo, who led a campaign to clean up the historically polluted river,

00:48has also committed to swimming in the Seine to celebrate its suitability for the upcoming

00:52Olympics.

00:57For more UN videos visit www.un.org

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