Parisians and tourists swam in the Seine on Tuesday (August 12) morning to keep cool as a heatwave sweeps over France.

The temperature in Paris was forecast to be around 35 degrees Celsius (95 Fahrenheit) on Tuesday afternoon, still several degrees cooler than the south-west of the country, which is under red heatwave warnings with forecasts of 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) in some places.

German tourist Hanne Koenig said it was her first time swimming in the Seine and the water was "perfect" while Paris resident Claudia Cabri said she wished she could do it all the time.

Stephanie Le Guedart, the deputy director of Paris' youth and sport department, said authorities had noticed a big rise in the number of people coming to swim over the weekend and were prepared to receive larger numbers in the coming days.

Paris re-opened the Seine for swimming at three areas along the river in July, the first time in over 100 years since the public could bathe in the river. The bathing sites are expected to close at the end of August.

DESCRIPCIÓN DE IMÁGENES

PARIS, FRANCE (AUGUST 12, 2025) (REUTERS - Access all)

1. WOMAN ENTERING SECTION OF SEINE FOR SWIMMING

2. PEOPLE SWIMMING IN SEINE

3. VARIOUS GO-PRO FOOTAGE OF SWIMMERS

4. SWIMMERS TAKING BUOYS THEY HAVE TO ATTACH TO THEMSELVES WHEN SWIMMING

5. SWIMMERS ENTERING WATER

6. VARIOUS OF PEOPLE SWIMMING

7. GERMAN TOURIST, HANNE KOENIG, SWIMMING

8. (SOUNDBITE) (English) GERMAN TOURIST, HANNE KOENIG, SAYING:

“It's super cool, the water is perfect, so it's, I think it's about 25 degrees (Celsius) so it's not too cold, not too warm. And it's also nice because it's much harder to go this way than this way (due to the current) so it's a little bit of a competition as well, so... it's super nice."

9. PEOPLE SWIMMING

10. (SOUNDBITE) (English) GERMAN TOURIST, HANNE KOENIG, SAYING:

“It's my first time, so... yeah, because I live in a city with a big river, and it's not possible (to swim) because it's so polluted from the industries. So it was so nice to have this situation here, and it's also free, so everybody (can) come, so it's not about money or how rich you are, so yeah, I love it."

11. (SOUNDBITE) (French) LOCAL RESIDENT, CLAUDIA CABRI, SAYING:

“I feel so good. The water is good, the water is cool."

12. PEOPLE SWIMMING

13. (SOUNDBITE) (French) LOCAL RESIDENT, CLAUDIA CABRI, SAYING:

“I thank them (city of Paris), I live in this city and it's such a good idea. I love it. I would like to do it all the time."

14. WOMAN HOLDING ONTO BUOY IN WATER

15. (SOUNDBITE) (French) DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF PARIS CITY HALL YOUTH AND SPORTS DEPARTMENT, STEPHANIE LE GUEDART, SAYING:

“I really have the impression that this weekend we saw that we had a big rise (in the number of swimmers) and so we are trying to get prepared a bit for the days to come, to possibly organise rotations to allow the largest number of people possible to get in."

16. PEOPLE SWIMMING

17. (SOUNDBITE) (French) DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF PARIS CITY HALL YOUTH AND SPORTS DEPARTMENT, STEPHANIE LE GUEDART, SAYING:

“And this will go on until the end of August, so we still have almost a month ahead of us with quite a few hot days I think."

18. LIFEGUARD WATCHING PEOPLE SWIMMING

19. PEOPLE STARTING TO GET OUT OF RIVER

20. LIFEGUARD TELLING SOMEONE IT’S TIME TO GET OUT

21. VARIOUS OF PEOPLE EXITING SEINE