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“Not even Jesus, who could turn water into wine, could purify the Seine.”

The Seine River is almost driving the French into a state of isolation.

The main theme of the Olympic Games held in Paris this time was "romance", and it was originally well planned:

The athletes swam in the spring water of the Seine, and on both sides of the river were the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame de Paris, the Louvre and other French cultural icons. Is there any Olympics more romantic than this?

For this reason, Paris has spent 1.6 billion euros on water purification, and is determined to restore the "innocence" of the Seine River.

However, although a lot of money has been spent, it seems that Paris's "clean water operation" has failed:

First, the E. coli level exceeded the standard seriously, so the triathlon was postponed. Then, the athletes vomited continuously after swimming in the Seine River.

Why is the Seine River, the "mother river" of the French, so polluted? Paris spent 1.6 billion euros on water purification, but failed miserably?

Let’s talk about these issues today. It’s not easy to write, so please like, forward and collect them.

After swimming in the Seine, the athlete vomited

Due to the increasingly serious pollution, as early as 100 years ago, the French government had issued a "swimming ban" prohibiting people from swimming freely in the Seine.

As a result, when it came to this Olympics, the French had the unique idea of ​​making the Seine River the "protagonist". Not only did it serve as the main venue for the opening ceremony, but it also hosted triathlon competitions.

But the problem is,The Seine River has been dirty for 100 years. How easy is it to clean it up now?

Therefore, until the official opening of the Paris Olympics, the outside world was still generally concerned about whether the water quality of the Seine River would affect the official holding of the Olympics.

However, as expected, an accident happened:

On July 30, due to substandard water quality, the men's individual triathlon at the Paris Olympics was postponed to the morning of the 31st.

Fortunately, after a series of tests, the water quality of the Seine River finally met the requirements, and the triathlon was held as scheduled after a postponement.

But then, an embarrassing scene happened:

Canadian player Tyler Mislacchuk vomited uncontrollably during the live broadcast after the game.

When we think about the Seine River which had E. coli levels exceeding the standard yesterday, it is really unbearable.

Compared to the Canadian athlete who was infected, American triathlete Seth Ryder seems to be much more skilled.

Knowing that there are all kinds of harmful bacteria and viruses in the Seine River, he insisted on not washing his hands a few weeks before the game, vowing to turn himself into a "gu" more poisonous than the Seine River.

As long as I am dirtier than you, you can't get dirty by me. Reid is really trying his best.

Although experts clearly stated that Reid's "little trick" was unreliable, at least Reid did not vomit after swimming in the Seine this time, so it can be considered "effective."

Why is the Seine so dirty?

The Seine River originates in the mountainous area in central and eastern France and is about 780 kilometers long. It not only represents the romance of Paris, but also gave birth to French culture and history. It is of extraordinary significance.

But how could such a "mother river" of the French become so dirty?

There are two main reasons. The first is historical reasons.

Paris' pollution of the Seine has lasted for centuries, dating back to the 16th century, when Protestants and Catholics fought religious wars and the bodies of the victims were thrown into the river.

In recent decades, with the development of urban industrialization, domestic sewage and industrial sewage have all been discharged into the Seine, and the pollution is naturally not small.

Over time, the difficulty of completely purifying the Seine has increased, and it is no longer a problem that can be solved with 1.6 billion euros.

Secondly, it also has a lot to do with Paris’s drainage system.

Although Paris's drainage system is well-developed and world-famous, and even Paris sewer cruises have become a tourist attraction, it still has a fatal flaw -Sewage and rainwater are not separated.

Normally, it's fine, as the sewage treatment plant is fully capable of purifying water, but once it rains heavily, everything is ruined:

The amount of rain was so heavy that the sewage treatment plant was unable to handle it in time and had to be closed. All the diluted feces flowed into the Seine.

This may also be the main reason why the E. coli level in the Seine River exceeds the standard. Speaking of this, I feel even more sorry for the triathletes swimming in the Seine River.

1.6 billion euros, why did the purification fail?

Actually,The poor water quality of the Seine River cannot be blamed on the French government’s lack of effort or poor water purification technology.The main reason is that governance is too difficult.

In order to purify the water quality of the Seine River, the French government not only built sewage treatment stations along the river, but also built several underground reservoirs to receive excess rainwater brought by heavy rainfall, thereby avoiding overloading of the sewage system and causing direct discharge of sewage.

But don't forget,The Seine River is 780 kilometers long, and relying on underground reservoirs to carry excess rainwater is much more difficult than imagined.

So even if France spent 1.6 billion euros, it would all be in vain if it rained heavily. The Seine River would immediately become unhealthy and the E. coli content would instantly explode.

In addition to the high difficulty of management, another major problem in Seine River water purification is organizational issues.

In order to purify the water quality, the Paris municipal authorities set up six working groups and visited 20,000 households, trying to persuade them to accept government subsidies to transform their own sewage pipes and connect them to the municipal sewage system instead of discharging them directly into the Seine.

result,Even though the Paris municipality provided each household with a subsidy of 6,000 euros and covered all repair costs, half of the households still disagreed.

In other words, to this day, there are still 10,000 households along the Seine that use the drainage system from 100 years ago, discharging waste directly into the river rather than into the municipal sewage network.

In this regard, the Paris authorities were at a loss as to what to do and could only say helplessly, "We can't force them to open the doors."

So now think about it, some time ago many Parisians felt that it cost too much to manage the Seine River, and in order to boycott the Olympics, they organized a group to shit in the Seine River while French President Macron was swimming in the Seine. This might not really be a joke.

While we are busy with pollution control here, we are busy with defecating in the Seine over there. It would be strange if the E. coli level did not exceed the standard.

The Paris authorities spent a lot of money and effort to manage the Seine River, but the results were minimal.

Who would have thought that even the "iron men" who participated in triathlons could not withstand the ravages of the Seine River? So in the future, if the French want to swim in the Seine River, they'd better think twice before doing so.

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