French Sports Minister Amelie Oudea-Castera bravely dives into the Seine in a desperate attempt to allay concerns about pollution of the famous river ahead of the Paris Olympics.

• In the run-up to the Olympic Games, concerns were raised about pollution of the Seine
• But French Sports Minister Amelie Oudea-Castera swam in the river this week
• Two Olympic competitions are currently planned for Paris 2024 in the Seine.

French Sports Minister Amelie Oudea-Castera took a dip in the Seine on Saturday in a publicity stunt to convince the world that the river is suitable for Olympic athletes.

According to current status, two Olympic competitions – the triathlon and open water swimming – are to be held in the Seine this summer.

The famous river will also play a role in the opening ceremony and some parts of the show will be performed on boats and other moving watercraft.

However, many people raise concerns about the level of pollution in the water and tests are constantly being carried out.

The water quality of the Seine successfully met the required standards last week, but this has not been consistently the case in recent months.

Daily testing will continue before and during the 2024 World Championships in Paris, which begin on July 26 and end on August 11.

But Oudea-Castera caused a stir on Saturday when she jumped into the jump alongside triathlete Alexis Hanquinquant, who will be France’s flag bearer at the opening ceremony of the Paralympics on August 28.

Oudea-Castera shared a video on social media of herself diving into the Seine and then floating down the river with a wide-open smile.

She captioned the video: “Promise kept,” a reference to her earlier promise to go in the water before the Games.

City hall official Pierre Rabadan told RFI earlier on Saturday that water quality in the Seine had met the required standard for “11 or 10 days”.

Rabadan added: “We hope that the weather will improve a little, but we are not worried about the possibility of holding the competitions. They will take place.”

However, he acknowledged that some “changes” may be needed, without giving details.