This story about swimming in Paris is part of How Paris Moves, a series of dispatches about communities and social updating in France, the lens of the 2024 Summer Olympics.
It’s an ordinary Friday for four-year-old Abdallah, and despite the cold-bloodedness of April and the fatigue of a whole week at school, he’s splashing around in the water with five other apprentice swimmers in the public pool. But today is a special Friday: for the first time, Abdallah managed to tow himself just a few meters from the edge of the pool, stretching his arms and legs in vigorous strokes.
“Look, he’s swimming!” I controlled to make him swim!” shouts Shirin Hogart, one of the swimming instructors. Two mothers, volunteering in the pool and sitting on white plastic chairs, interrupt their talk to applaud.
This is the typical scene of a night out at La Baleine, a public swimming pool and nautical center in Saint-Denis, the main commune of Seine-Saint-Denis, a suburb north of Paris. Here, swimming beginners, aged between 3 and 90, receive weekly organization lessons. Abadallah’s luck is special in the Seine-Saint-Denis branch, where 75% of young people do not know how to swim before entering 6th grade and do not pass the swimming exams authorized by the school. This is the worst level of swimming in mainland France, and what is worrying: drowning is the leading cause of accidental death among those under 25 in the country.
It’s no small irony that Seine-Saint-Denis is hosting the main occasions of the 2024 Summer Olympics, adding water competitions such as diving, water polo and artistic swimming. With only 39 swimming pools in the department, Seine-Saint-Denis has lately only 60 square meters of swimming pools for 10,000 inhabitants. This is 4 times less than the national average, giving citizens less chance to swim. “We are in sclerotic territory when it comes to swimming,” says Henri Michel, director of La Baleine. , which means that government actors have not responded when it comes to supporting the local community. “But the Olympics will give us a boost. “
Swim students take weekly training classes at La Baleine, a public pool and water sports center in Saint-Denis, where most children under sixth grade can’t swim simply for the sake of swimming.
Although government actors have not responded when it comes to supporting the community, Henri Michel, director of La Baleine, believes that “the Olympic Games will give us a boost”.
For this occasion and to host the training of Olympic athletes, seven swimming pools in Seine-Saint-Denis were renovated. The new purpose-built Olympic Aquatics Centre, opposite the Stade de France, is the most recent addition to the area and was completed in April this year. From July 2025, it will be a multi-sports facility open to the public, benefiting local citizens and addressing, in some ways, decades-old considerations about the lack of investment in the area. As for this aquatic irony, Stéphane Troussel, president of the general and departmental council of Seine-Saint-Denis, put it well when he told Libération in 2021: “We cannot welcome the world’s greatest swimmers in 2024 and beyond. one out of every two young people does not know how to swim.
Historically, Seine-Saint-Denis was a commercial center of the Parisian metropolis, known for its metal and automobile factories in the 19th and early 20th centuries. But in the 1970s, the relocation of those industries to countries beyond French borders, where hard work is cheaper, triggered the decline of the agglomeration. Despite many efforts, government rescue plans aimed at improving education, social housing and the quality of public care are failing cruelly. Seine-Saint-Denis is today the poorest branch of France, with an unemployment rate above 17% and 1. 6 million people living below the poverty line, or around 27% of its population, or almost double that at the national level. .
This economic scenario is a double blow for the young people of Seine-Saint-Denis, whose families have little or no budget to stopover on the beaches of France, where they can get information and practice swimming. According to a recent study, the ability to swim is inextricably linked to social origin and the ability of parents to remain in the sea for a long time; Only 2% of young senior managers do not know how to swim, compared to 13% of young workers.
That said, Michel de La Baleine believes that this gap in swimming ability is not exclusively due to monetary restrictions and disparities. For what it’s worth, he says, an annual pool club costs less than two hundred euros (about $216), which is covered almost entirely by state subsidies. (Getting grants can be a real administrative headache, however. ) Michel explains that there is also a cultural or religious barrier. Seine-Saint-Denis is home to many Muslim families, he says, “so it’s up to us to adapt to the public. ” During the summer, La Baleine has enabled access for veiled Muslim mothers, so that they can accompany their children without having to undress.
La Baleine director Henri Michel says that when it comes to swimming, Saint-Denis is in “sclerotic territory” because government actors have sufficiently supported the local community. “But the Olympics will give us a boost,” he says.
Efforts to bring the region’s youth closer to water are bearing fruit. Since 2021, Savoir Nager, a program committed to providing swimming students with access to weekly lessons and extensive classes during school holidays, has led to a significant increase in the good fortune rate. of the youth swimming certificate. From a 25% success rate in 2015, this has increased to 35% in 2023. The goal is to reach a 50% success rate among schoolchildren within a few years, although the exact date is unknown. remains uncertain.
Of course, swimming in Seine-Saint-Denis isn’t just about statistics, tests, and good luck ratings. The significant impact of public access to swimming pools has proved fruitful on a personal level for both children and adults. During one of my visits to La Baleine, I felt deeply the friendly and affectionate atmosphere that reigns between neighbors who need to encourage each other. As giant windows let in the sun’s rays that make the water shine, committed swimmers’ trainees heed their instructor’s recommendations as they shiver at the edge of the pool and wait their turn for a drilling dive.
Find out more about Seine Saint-Denis
Seine-Saint-Denis (known as “Senn-son-de-knee”) is a French subsidiary made up of five municipalities, including Saint-Denis, where the Olympic events of artistic swimming, water polo and diving will take place. at the new Olympic Aquatic Center. The post is at the exit of the Saint-Denis – Porte de Paris stop, which is served by line 13. Nearby is the Stade de France, which will also host Olympic competitions: rugby, decathlon and jumping. pole, etc. they; and the Basilica of Saint-Denis, a masterpiece of Gothic architecture that houses the tombs of almost all the kings of France from the 10th century to Louis XVIII, who died in 1824. Next to the church is the Parc de la Legion of Honor, Best for a lunchtime picnic.
“The first few times I didn’t need to go through because I was afraid of the pool,” says Elyas, 10, wrapped in a blue towel in the stands, wearing glasses on his forehead and waiting for him to regain his elegance. He began taking swimming lessons at the age of five, encouraged by his parents, who may not swim themselves. “But now I feel smart in the water. All the tension disappears when I swim,” he says. Elyas now dreams of joining a competitive local water polo team.
Sarah and Inès, 16-year-old twins in matching swimsuits, have been swimming in La Baleine for 8 years. “It’s been great. We’ve evolved through swimming,” says Sarah as she adjusts her swim cap before getting into the pool. board. They are now making plans to become professional swimmers. We have the ability to do it,” adds Inès. “Now we just want a lot of hard work. ” More than an imaginable path, they discovered a network with their peers in the pool, where they catch up with the same organization of friends every week, sharing laughter between rounds.
This sense of community is also a lifeline in the neighborhood. Seine-Saint-Denis, in addition to being one of the poorest departments in France, is also the youngest, with 42% of residents under the age of 30. In January 2024, after two gang-related score-settlings claimed the lives of two teenagers in the same week, local educators were urged to heighten their efforts to engage young people in educational activities. “The time they spend here at the pool is time when they’re not hanging out on the street,” says Jean Batby, the head of Étoile Sportive Dionysienne, an association that offers swimming lessons at La Baleine. “It’s an activity with instructors who supervise them, and it’s a good atmosphere here.”
Mourad Sisaid, instructor at La Baleine, has been training swimming for almost 20 years. He himself grew up and learned to swim in Saint-Denis as a child. “It’s a cosmopolitan place that welcomes a lot of other people from all over the world who don’t necessarily have a swimming culture in their family and don’t know how to swim,” he says.
Although attempts to revitalise Seine-Saint-Denis have failed on a small or large scale, Sisaid is confident that the Games will come to the area. I think the Olympics and the new aquatic center will create even more enthusiasm for swimming. “And attract more Saint-Denis to the pool,” he believes. We have also discovered tricks for drawing in adults. While the young people do their lessons, we offer them to the parents. It becomes an activity in a circle of relatives.
The Olympic occasions of artistic swimming, water polo and diving will take place at the new Olympic Aquatic Center of Saint-Denis, which houses, among the monuments, the Basilica of Saint-Denis, where many kings of France are buried.
For Virginie Taveira, seeing her son’s swimming skills encouraged her to take the plunge herself. Her swimming gets her out of the house, she said, and eases her intellectual load. As we watch her son scuba dive on the other side of the pool, she congratulates him and also takes credit: “I’m 40 years old and I’m learning to swim! Come on, that’s something, rarely is it?
Mohammed, a tall, corpulent and hydrophobic glassmaker founded in Saint-Denis, has been arriving every week at La Baleine for more than two years. When I arrived in France, thirteen years ago, I saw that even the young people here knew how to swim and I didn’t,” he says. In Senegal, where he grew up, he spent time at the beach, but only to play soccer and watch his family get in the water. She takes swimming lessons, despite her concern about water that puts “a knot in her stomach”. The first sessions were very difficult, he says, but he is proud that he was able to get his feet wet.
“I still don’t know how to swim properly,” says Mohammed. But even if he takes 10 years, learning to swim will be worth it. “
Naturally, many Parisian hotels have swimming pools, although the maximum is limited to genuine ownership of the property. But no matter where you stay, you can take a dip in deeper waters by visiting one of Paris’ many public pools, where entry fees charge around five euros or even less. Here you have a small selection; Keep an eye on their schedules during the 2024 Summer Olympics. Don’t forget: bring your own gadgets, such as towels and goggles (including a swimming cap, mandatory at most French pools) and flip-flops for converters.
The Baleine Centre Nautique (13 Av. Jean Moulin, 93200 Saint-Denis) features a 25-meter (82-foot) swimming pool, a fun pool for young people and families, a slide and a diving hole with an intensity of 32 feet. where divers can get information and exercise with diving equipment. In addition to the swimming school, the center offers aquatic fitness categories such as cycling, boxing, and water toning.
The Georges Vallerey swimming pool (148 Av. Gambetta, 75020 Paris) reopened its doors this year after two years of renovation. Originally called Piscine des Tourelles, it was first built for the 1924 Summer Olympics, when American swimmer Johnny Weissmuller made history by winning 4 medals and adding 3 golds. The pool now benefits from improved electrical functionality and accessibility, an eco-certified wooden frame and a new retractable sunroof that allows you to swim outdoors on sunny days.
The Joséphine-Baker swimming pool (Quai François Mauriac, 75013 Paris), named after the French dancer, singer and actor of American origin, floats directly on the Seine and offers a breathtaking view of the quays through its gigantic windows. It’s the closest thing to swimming in the river: a lap pool for adults, a paddling pool for kids, and sunbathing decks. It’s one of the city’s most well-known swimming spots, among locals and tourists alike, so try to arrive early in the day.
Piscine Pontoise (19 Rue de Pontoise, 75005 Paris), located in the 5th arrondissement of Paris, was made famous by Jacques Cousteau, the French oceanographer and filmmaker, who conducted his first diving tests in this pool in 1936. Built in the early 1930s in Art Deco style, the sunny yellow interiors evoke the south of France. For evening swimming, the pool is open until 22:45. during the week.
The Roger Le Gall swimming pool (34 Bd. Carnot, 75012 Paris) is aimed at the most adventurous. Three nights a week, the pool hosts special swimming sessions for naturists. For decades, Parisians have flocked here to completely escape the hustle and bustle of the French capital, unless they need the requisite swimming cap.
Learn more about the Paris 2024 Olympic Games from Condé Nast Traveler here.
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