Excrement in the Seine ? Wastewater would be dumped into the river where Anne Hidalgo must bathe, according to a former CNRS researcher

Un chercheur a exprimé ses criantes quant à la qualité du fleuve. MAXPPP – Jean-Luc Flémal

Ce 30 mai 2024, Michel Riottot, ancien ingénieur de recherche au CNRS, s’est inquiété de l’état de la Seine. Il a notamment expliqué que les eaux des toilettes seraient déversées dans la Seine

The river is to host several events of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. But Michel Riottot, honorary president of "France Nature Environnement" and former research engineer at the CNRS, "fears difficulties".

Toilet water discharged into the rainwater network which passes directly into the Seine

Due to the weather in recent weeks, the former engineer expressed his fears to BFMTV as to& ;nbsp;the water quality of the river. Due to thousands of bad connections in the Valenton sanitation plant (Val-de-Marne), "toilet water is discharged into the water network of rain which is not filtered and passes directly into the rivers or the Seine", explained Michel Riottot.

"Almost 80% of the pollution of the Seine, apart from storms and heavy rains, are linked to these bad connections", indicates the former researcher. A shame for the triathlon or open water swimming events which must be held in the river this summer.

JO/Seine: "Les eaux des toilettes sont déversées dans le réseau des eaux de pluies qui lui n'est pas filtré et passe directement dans la Seine" affirme Michel Riottot (ancien ingénieur de recherche au CNRS) pic.twitter.com/RtHY3kKRF4

— BFMTV (@BFMTV) May 30, 2024

"It's going to take a little time"

If Michel Riottot notes that the water of the Seine has greatly improved over the last 30 years, "there are still efforts to be made do" according to him.

And to add: "These bad connections are a problem that absolutely must be resolved. There are thousands to modify so it will take a little time".

Following the announcement of the mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, who assured that she would take a dip in the Seine ahead of the Olympic Games, thousands of Internet users called for people to defecate in the Seine on the day of their swim with the hashtag #JeChieDansLaSeineLe23June on X (formerly Twitter). Eventually, the joke might have become a reality.