Let's All Swim in the Once-Filthy Canals of Paris

We’ve all heard promises from cities to make their once-fetid urban waterways swimmable—probably too many. Boston has been pledging to extend the Charles River’s swimmable days for years now, while Berlin’s beautiful plans to turn an arm of the River Spree into a naturally filtered bathing pool remain just that—plans. Baltimore’s proposal to render the oft-garbage-y Inner Harbor swimmable via floating islands of pollution-sucking vegetation and a googly-eyed trash-eating boat are edging ever closer to a 2020 deadline, with limited progress so far, while London’s likable scheme for a Thames Bath remains the preserve of local enthusiasts rather than actual decision-makers. (Meanwhile, when an environmental activist went for a dip in New York City’s Gowanus Canal in 2015, he had to essentially wear a spacesuit to protect himself from the bacteria-laced toxic soup.)

Among all these maybes, could-bes, and never-attempts, one city stands out for actually making things happen: Paris. For years, the French capital has been promising to open up its urban waterways for safe, clean public swimming. This month, it’s done exactly that.