Paris Olympics 2024:After days of delay, Paris Olympics triathlon events finally started on the much-polluted river Seine on Wednesday (July 31). But the river is continuing to be a mane for President Emannuel Macron, with a host of internet comments and memes hilariously highlighting the 'poop-filled' river's poor water quality.
One of them showed President Macron emerging in the middle of dirt and slush in river Seine, while another showed an ogre giving an interview after emerging from the river.
The river's polluted state has been an ongoing issue. French political leaders and Paris Olympics organisers have continously assured that the Seine was clean enough to hold the swimming events.
The Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo promised to swim in the river but postponed it several times before finally taking the dip on July 17.
That happened a day after the sports ministerAmelie Oudea-Castera swam in the river. Her videos of slipping while gingerly entering the river, and then falling into the water went viral. But she put up a brave front, presenting a rosy picture of the visibly brown river in a subsequent interview, appearing in full black body suit and swimmer's cap.
Sports Minister Amelie Oudea-Castera was, meanwhile, mired in another controversy, after some found her public, intimate kiss with Macron during the opening event to be indecent.
The women's triathlete event of Wednesday happened after concerns about the water quality had delayed the event for several days.
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Ahead of the men's triathlon, tests had shown that there were elevated levels of bacteria in the water, including E. Coli.
It has been raining in Paris, which added to the wastewater in the river.
Some 1.4 billion euros were spent on infrastructure building ahead of the Olympics, including for the cleanup of the Seine river.
Presence of E. coli in the water means sewage contamination. Some types of this bacteria can be harmful to health and cause diarrhea.
There are plans to relocate marathon swimming events scheduled on August 8-9 if the water level does not improve.
Earlier measurements had shown that E. coli levelswere at 985 units per 100 millilitres which was above the regulated cap.
(With inputs from agencies)