For the first time in over a century, Parisians and tourists will be able to take a refreshing dip in the River Seine. The long-polluted waterway is finally opening up as a summertime swim spot following a 1.4 billion euro ($1.5 billion) cleanup project that made it suitable for Olympic competitions last year.

Three new swimming sites on the Paris riverbank will open on Saturday – one close to Notre Dame Cathedral, another near the Eiffel Tower and a third in eastern Paris.

Swimming in the Seine has been illegal since 1923, with a few exceptions, due to pollution and risks posed by river navigation. Taking a dip outside bathing areas is still banned for safety reasons.

The Seine was one of the stars of the Paris Olympics in 2024, whether as the scene of the ambitious opening ceremony or the triathlon and marathon swimming competitions. That didn’t go without challenging hurdles such as rainfall increasing levels of bacteria, which postponed some competitions.

The city’s authorities have given the green light for the public opening, with water quality results consistently in line with European regulations.

“It’s a symbolic moment when we get our river back,” said sports coach and influencer Lucile Woodward, who will participate in the first amateur open water competition in the Seine on Sunday.

Woodward, who enjoyed a dip alongside Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo just before the start of the Olympic Games, is confident things will go well.

“We’re going to enjoy swimming in it, being there and setting an example,” she said. “Once people will see that in the end there are hundreds of people who have fun and enjoy it, everyone will want to go!”

“For families, going to take a dip with the kids, making little splashes in Paris, it’s extraordinary,” Woodward added.

Olympic athletes competing in the river was a spectacular reward for the cost of the cleanup effort.

In the run-up to the Games, authorities opened new disinfection units and created a huge storage basin meant to prevent as much bacteria-laden wastewater as possible from spilling directly into the Seine when it rains.

Houseboats that previously emptied their sewage directly into the river were required to hook up to municipal sewer systems. Some homes upstream from Paris also saw their wastewater connected to treatment plants instead of the rainwater system flowing directly into the river.

Green flag for swimming

Paris Deputy Mayor Pierre Rabadan said water is tested daily to confirm it’s safe to swim. As on French beaches, different colored flags will inform visitors whether or not they can go in.

“Green means the water quality is good. Red means that it’s not good or that there’s too much current,” he said.

Tests have been in line with European regulations since the beginning of June, with only two exceptions due to rain and boat-related pollution, Rabadan said.

“I can’t make a bet on the numbers of days when we’ll have to close this summer, but water quality seems better than last year,” he added. “We’re in a natural environment… so weather condition variations necessarily have an impact.”

Last year, several athletes became ill after competing in the triathlon and open water races during the Olympics, though in most cases it was not clear if the river was to blame for their sickness.

World Aquatics stressed the conditions met the sport’s accepted thresholds.

“The legacy of these efforts is already evident, with the Seine now open for public swimming – a positive example of how sports can drive long-term community benefits,” the organization said in a statement to The Associated Press.

Skepticism remains about water quality

Dan Angelescu, founder and CEO of Fluidion, a Paris and Los Angeles-based water monitoring tech company, has routinely and independently tested bacterial levels in the Seine for several years. Despite being in line with current regulations, the official water testing methodology has limitations and undercounts the bacteria, he said.

“What we see is that the water quality in the Seine is highly variable,” Angelescu said. “There are only a few days in a swimming season where I would say water quality is acceptable for swimming.”

“All we can say is that we can raise a hand and say look: the science today does not support the current assessment of water safety used in the rivers around Paris, and we think that there is major risk that is not being captured at all,” he said.

Some Parisians also have shown skepticism toward the idea of swimming in the Seine. The feeling is often reinforced by the water’s murky color, floating litter and multiple tourist boats in some places.

Enys Mahdjoub, a real estate agent, said he would not be afraid of swimming, but rather “a bit disgusted. It’s more the worry of getting dirty than anything else at the moment.”

A dream come true

Until the end of August, swimming sites will be open for free at scheduled times to anyone with a minimum age of 10 or 14 years, depending on the location. Lifeguards will keep a watchful eye on those first dips.

“It’s an opportunity, a dream come true,” said Clea Montanari, a project manager in Paris. “It’d be a dream if the Seine becomes drinkable, that would be the ultimate goal, right? But already swimming in it is really good.”

US President Donald Trump says he’s “optimistic” a ceasefire deal in Gaza could be agreed next week after Hamas announced that it had “submitted a positive response” to a proposal for a 60-day truce with Israel.

“We have to get it over with,” Trump said Friday. “We have to do something about Gaza.”

Israel and Hamas have long had conflicting demands that negotiators have been unable to bridge, but with both now agreeing the revised proposal, for the first time in months an agreement seems within reach.

The renewed efforts gathered steam following a truce between Iran and Israel but also reflect US pressure and a shift in Israel’s war goals. Here’s what to know.

Why now?

Netanyahu’s government has faced mounting international criticism for the suffering its war is inflicting on Palestinians in Gaza.

Israel imposed a total blockade on humanitarian deliveries to the enclave in March. It somewhat eased the blockade in May, after a chorus of global experts warned that hundreds of thousands of people could soon starve.

Hundreds of Palestinians in Gaza have been killed by Israeli strikes in recent days. And aid distribution has been marred by violence, with hundreds killed on their way to try to obtain food from the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), the controversial US-backed aid initiative that began operating at the end of May.

Pressure is also growing on Netanyahu from within Israel.

His government is propped up by far-right figures who want to escalate the fighting in Gaza, but opposition leader Yair Lapid said Wednesday that he would join the coalition government to make a hostage deal possible. Polls have repeatedly shown that a majority of the country wants a deal to bring the hostages home, even if it means an end to the war.

What are Israel’s demands?

In addition to the aim of bringing the hostages home, Netanyahu has not wavered from his more maximalist aims: disarmament of Gaza and the destruction of Hamas’ military capabilities and governance abilities.

But last weekend, the prime minister made a rhetorical shift in laying out Israel’s goals – for the first time prioritizing the return of hostages ahead of what he once called the “supreme objective” of defeating Hamas.

Netanyahu said “many opportunities have opened up” following Israel’s military operations in Iran, including the possibility of bringing home everyone still held captive by Hamas. “Firstly, to rescue the hostages,” he said. “Of course, we will also need to solve the Gaza issue, defeat Hamas, but I believe we will accomplish both missions.”

The comments were welcomed by families of hostages held in Gaza, who have criticized him for not clearly placing releasing their Ioved ones as Israel’s primary goal. Only a small number of hostages have been rescued in military operations rather than freed under truces.

The Israeli military this week recommended pursuing a diplomatic path in Gaza after nearly two years of fighting and the elimination of much of Hamas’ senior leadership.

What about Hamas?

Hamas announced on Friday that it “submitted a positive response to the mediators, and the movement is fully prepared to immediately enter into a round of negotiations regarding the mechanism for implementing this framework.”

The militant group has three main demands: a permanent end to the fighting, for humanitarian assistance to be carried out by the United Nations, and for Israel to retreat to the positions it held on March 2 this year, before it renewed its offensive and occupied the northern part of the Strip.

In response to the earlier Trump administration-backed ceasefire proposal in May, Hamas requested US assurances that permanent ceasefire negotiations will continue and that fighting will not resume after the 60-day pause.

Whether the ceasefire will be temporary or a pathway to a permanent truce is the biggest sticking point between the warring parties.

While Israel wants to eradicate Hamas following the Oct. 7 attacks, the group has shown little willingness to relinquish its political and military power in Gaza.

Officials in the group have given contradictory statements as to Hamas’ role in a post-war Gaza. The group’s spokesperson, Hazem Qassem, has said that the group is not “clinging to power” and does not have to be part of arrangements “in the next phase.”

What’s in the proposed deal?

While the fine detail of the proposal is yet to be released it is clear that the revised plan is an attempt to bridge some of the differences between Israel and Hamas.

A source familiar with the negotiations said that the timeline of the latest proposal calls for the release of 10 living Israeli hostages and 18 deceased hostages spread out over the full 60-day period.

Of the 50 hostages still in Gaza, at least 20 of them are believed to be alive, according to the Israeli government.

Similiar to previous ceasefires, on the first day of the truce, Hamas would release eight living hostages. In exchange, Israel would release an unspecified number of Palestinian prisoners and detainees, and withdraw its forces from pre-agreed locations in northern Gaza.

Israel and Hamas would also immediately enter into negotiations for a permanent ceasefire once the initial truce goes into effect, the source said.

Under the deal, hostages will be released without ceremonies or fanfare at Israel’s request – unlike during the last truce, when Hamas staged public propaganda events around hostage transfers that sparked outrage in Israel.

Humanitarian aid will immediately begin to flow into Gaza at the start of the ceasefire, including from the United Nations and from other aid organizations, similar to the previous ceasefire which began on January 19.

This leaves the fate of the US-backed GHF and its role in Gaza unclear.

Although both sides have accepted the proposal more talks must take place before a ceasefire begins.

In these proximity talks, likely to take place in Doha or Cairo, negotiators shuttle back and forth between the two sides to hammer out the final details of the agreement.

One of the key issues to resolve during proximity talks will be the timeline and location of the withdrawal of Israeli forces in Gaza during the 60-day ceasefire, according to the source.

When were the previous ceasefires?

In the 21 months of war between Israel and Hamas, ceasefires have been in place for a total of only nine weeks.

More than 57,000 people, of which more than 17,000 are children, have been killed in Gaza during the fighting, according to the Palestinian health ministry.

The first ceasefire came into effect in November 2023, but lasted only a week. In that time, 105 hostages were released from Gaza, in exchange for scores of Palestinian prisoners.

A second ceasefire was not struck until January 2025, shortly before Trump’s return to the White House. In just over 8 weeks – the first “phase” of the ceasefire – Hamas freed 33 hostages, with Israel releasing around 50 Palestinian prisoners for every Israeli freed.

Under the planned second stage, Israel was supposed to agree to a permanent ceasefire. But Israel resumed its offensive on March 18, shattering the ceasefire and derailing the talks, saying it did so to put pressure on Hamas to release the remaining hostages.