Paris inaugurates giant water storage basin to clean up the River Seine for Olympic swimming

PARIS (AP) — French officials inaugurated on Thursday a huge water storage basin meant to help clean up the River Seine, set to be the venue for marathon swimming at the Paris Games and the swimming leg of the Olympic and Paralympic triathlons.

Sports minister Amélie Oudéa-Castéra praised Paris' ability “to provide athletes from all over the world with an exceptional setting on the Seine for their events.”

Last year, swimming test events had to be canceled due to poor water quality. One reason was heavy rains that overwhelmed the city's old sewers, causing a mix of rainwater and untreated sewage to flow into the Seine and leaving safety standards unmet.

The giant reservoir dug next to Paris’ Austerlitz train station aims to collect excess rainwater and prevent bacteria-laden wastewater from entering the Seine.

It can hold the equivalent of 20 Olympic swimming pools of dirty water that will now be treated rather than being spat raw through storm drains into the river.

“We are on time," the prefect of the Paris region, Marc Guillaume, said. “The beginning of the Games will coincide with water quality allowing competition. That’s a tremendous collective success.”

Paris mayor Anne Hildago promised she would herself swim in the Seine before the Olympics — possibly alongside President Emmanuel Macron.

The new storage basin “guarantees” that water can be stored even during severe storms, and will help water levels to "return to normal as quickly as possible,” she said.

The opening of the basin is the latest step toward a cleaner river and comes as part of a series of newly-built facilities, including a water treatment plant in Champigny-sur-Marne, east of Paris, that was inaugurated last month.

During the Olympics, water will be tested at 3 a.m. each day to determine whether events can go ahead as planned. If results were not up to the standards, events could be delayed by a few days, organizers said.

The estimated cost of the cleanup efforts amount to 1.4 billion euros ($1.5 billion), paid by the state and local authorities.

“For more than ten years already, we’ve seen a very significant improvement of the Seine water quality and our river’s fishes and wildlife are back,” Hidalgo said.

About 35 fish species are now living in the Paris section of the river, up from only three in the 1970s, when waters were extremely polluted due to nearby industrial activities.

For decades, the Seine was used mainly as a waterway to transport goods and people or as a watery grave for discarded bicycles and other trash. Swimming there has, with some exceptions, been illegal since 1923.

Paris officials are planning to open several bathing sites to the general public in the summer, starting from next year.

The River Seine also is to be at the heart of the grandiose opening ceremony for the Olympics that will see over 200 athletes' delegations parade on more that 80 boats in central Paris.

AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games

AP journalists Oleg Cetinic and Masha Macpherson contributed to the story.

The Austerlitz wastewater and rainwater storage basin, which is intended to make the Seine river swimmable during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, is seen during its inauguration Thursday, May 2, 2024 in Paris. The works underground next to Paris' Austerlitz train station are part of a 1.5 billion euro effort to clean up the Seine so it can host marathon swimming and triathlon events at the July 26-Aug 11 Summer Games and be opened to the general public for swimming from 2025. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)

The Austerlitz wastewater and rainwater storage basin, which is intended to make the Seine river swimmable during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, is seen during its inauguration Thursday, May 2, 2024 in Paris. The works underground next to Paris' Austerlitz train station are part of a 1.5 billion euro effort to clean up the Seine so it can host marathon swimming and triathlon events at the July 26-Aug 11 Summer Games and be opened to the general public for swimming from 2025. (Stephane de Sakutin, Pool via AP)

A man walks in the Austerlitz wastewater and rainwater storage basin, which is intended to make the Seine river swimmable during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, in Paris, during its inauguration Thursday, May 2, 2024. The works underground next to Paris' Austerlitz train station are part of a 1.5 billion euro effort to clean up the Seine so it can host marathon swimming and triathlon events at the July 26-Aug 11 Summer Games and be opened to the general public for swimming from 2025. (Stephane de Sakutin, Pool via AP)

A man walks in the Austerlitz wastewater and rainwater storage basin, which is intended to make the Seine river swimmable during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, in Paris, during its inauguration Thursday, May 2, 2024. The works underground next to Paris' Austerlitz train station are part of a 1.5 billion euro effort to clean up the Seine so it can host marathon swimming and triathlon events at the July 26-Aug 11 Summer Games and be opened to the general public for swimming from 2025. (Stephane de Sakutin, Pool via AP)

Paris' mayor Anne Hidalgo, left, and President of the Paris 2024 Olympics and Paralympics Organizing Committee Tony Estanguet the Austerlitz inaugurate the wastewater and rainwater storage basin, which is intended to make the Seine river swimmable during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, in Paris, Thursday, May 2, 2024. The works underground next to Paris' Austerlitz train station are part of a 1.5 billion euro effort to clean up the Seine so it can host marathon swimming and triathlon events at the July 26-Aug 11 Summer Games and be opened to the general public for swimming from 2025. (Stephane de Sakutin, Pool via AP)

Paris' mayor Anne Hidalgo and other officials attend the inauguration of the Austerlitz wastewater and rainwater storage basin, which is intended to make the Seine river swimmable during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, in Paris, Thursday, May 2, 2024. The works underground next to Paris' Austerlitz train station are part of a 1.5 billion euro effort to clean up the Seine so it can host marathon swimming and triathlon events at the July 26-Aug 11 Summer Games and be opened to the general public for swimming from 2025. (Stephane de Sakutin, Pool via AP)

ISTANBUL (AP) — Kurdish militants who have waged a 40-year insurgency in Turkey declared a ceasefire on Saturday in what could mark a significant boost to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's government, two days after their imprisoned leader called for the group to disarm.

The announcement by the Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK, comes against the backdrop of fundamental changes in the region, including the reconfiguration of power in neighboring Syria after the toppling of President Bashar Assad, the weakening of the Hezbollah militant movement in Lebanon and the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.

The PKK declaration was published by the Firat News Agency, a media outlet close to the group, on Saturday. It referred to the insurgents' leader, Abdullah Ocalan, who has been imprisoned by Turkey since 1999.

“We declare a ceasefire effective today to pave the way for the implementation of Leader Apo’s Call for Peace and Democratic Society. None of our forces will take armed action unless attacked,” it said, referring to Ocalan by his nickname.

On Thursday, a delegation of Kurdish politicians announced Ocalan’s call for the PKK to lay down its arms and disband after visiting him on his island prison earlier in the day.

The conflict between Turkey and the PKK has led to tens of thousands of deaths since it began in 1984. The ceasefire is the first sign of a breakthrough since peace talks between the PKK and Ankara broke down in the summer of 2015.

In its statement, the PKK's executive committee said Ocalan’s call indicated that a “new historical process has begun in Kurdistan and the Middle East.” Kurdistan refers to the parts of Turkey, Iraq, Syria and Iran inhabited by Kurds.

While stating that it would “comply with and implement the requirements of the call from our own side,” the PKK emphasized that “democratic politics and legal grounds must also be suitable for success.”

Ocalan's call came as the main pro-Kurdish political party in Turkey has faced pressure, with several of its mayors being removed from office in recent months and replaced by government appointees.

The PKK also appealed for Ocalan to be released from Imrali prison, located in the Marmara Sea, to “personally direct and execute” a party congress that would lead to the militants laying down their arms.

The peace initiative between the Turkish state and the PKK, which is considered a terrorist organization by Turkey and its Western allies, was started in October by Erdogan’s coalition partner, Devlet Bahceli, a far-right politician who suggested that Ocalan could be granted parole if his group renounces violence and disbands.

Erdogan said Ocalan’s message was a “new phase” in peace efforts in Turkey.

“There is an opportunity to take a historic step toward tearing down the wall of terror that has stood between (Turkish and Kurdish peoples’) thousand-year-old brotherhood,” Erdogan said on Friday.

Some believe the main aim of the reconciliation effort is for Erdogan’s government to garner Kurdish support for a new constitution that would allow him to remain in power beyond 2028, when his term ends.

Bahceli has openly called for a new constitution, saying it was essential for Turkey's future that Erdogan remain in power. Erdogan and Bahceli are reportedly seeking parliamentary support from the pro-Kurdish People’s Equality and Democracy Party, or DEM.

Ocalan, 75, wields significant influence in the Kurdish movement despite his 25-year imprisonment, during which the PKK has been led by top figures who have fled and found sanctuary in the Kurdish region in northern Iraq.

In Syria, Kurdish fighters — who have ties to the PKK — have been involved in intense fighting with Turkish-backed forces on the ground there.

The leader of the U.S.-backed, Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces has said Ocalan’s call for a ceasefire does not apply to his group in Syria.

The Turkish government, however, says all Kurdish groups it claims are tied to the PKK — whether in Turkey, Syria or Iraq — must disband.

In recent years, the PKK has been limited to isolated attacks inside Turkey as the Turkish military, backed by armed drones, has pushed PKK insurgents increasingly across the mountainous border into Iraq.

Youngsters hold a photograph of the jailed leader of the rebel Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, Abdullah Ocalan as they gather to watch live on a tv screen a Pro-Kurdish Peoples' Equality and Democracy Party, or DEM, delegation members releasing an statement from Ocalan, in Diyarbakir, Turkey, Thursday, Feb. 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Metin Yoksu)

People gather to watch live on a tv screen a Pro-Kurdish Peoples' Equality and Democracy Party, or DEM, delegation members releasing an statement from the jailed leader of the rebel Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, Abdullah Ocalan, in Diyarbakir, Turkey, Thursday, Feb. 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Metin Yoksu)

Ahmet Turk, a member of the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Equality and Democracy Party (DEM) delegation, reads a statement from jailed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) leader Abdullah Ocalan, whose photo is seen in the background, during a press conference in Istanbul, Turkey, Thursday, Feb. 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)

Kurdish residents hold flags showing Abdullah Ocalan as they attend a gathering to see live a Pro-Kurdish Peoples' Equality and Democracy Party, or DEM, delegation members releasing an statement from the jailed leader of the rebel Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, in Qamishli, northeastern Syria, Thursday, Feb. 27, 2025.(AP Photo/Baderkhan Ahmad)