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The River Seine

In a previous lesson, we explored the Loire and other French rivers. Here, we will focus on the Seine, which meanders across northern France and, of course, crosses right through the heart of Paris, making it an integral part of Parisian life (see our lesson Getting around Paris). Can you walk along the banks of the Seine? Can you swim in the river? What key role did the Seine play in the saving of Notre-Dame Cathedral, and what part did it play in the Paris 2024 Olympics? Let’s find out! 

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Like all major rivers, the Seine occasionally sort de son lit (leaves its bed, overflows), as Lionel explains in this 2016 video:

 

La Seine ces jours-ci est sortie de son lit.

The Seine these days has left its bed.

Caption 2, Lionel L La Seine sort de son lit

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As a result of la crue (the flood), les quais sont fermés (the embankments are closed), to the dismay of Parisians:

 

Il faut savoir qu'actuellement les quais sont fermés suite à la crue qui a eu lieu précédemment sur Paris.

You should know that currently the embankments are closed, following the flood that previously took place in Paris.

Captions 20-21, Lionel L La Place des Vosges

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Catastrophic crues, like the one that occurred in 1910, are recorded with un repère (a benchmark). In his video, Daniel Benchimol points to a marker showing that the water would have been well above his head at the time:

 

Des deux côtés du Pont-Neuf, on trouve ces repères, qui sont des indicateurs de la crue de la Seine en mille neuf cent dix. Vous vous imaginez la hauteur... Ici, j'étais déjà sous l'eau.

On both sides of the Pont-Neuf, we find these benchmarks, which are indicators of the flooding of the Seine in nineteen hundred and ten. You can imagine the height... Here, I was already underwater.

Captions 20-22, Voyage dans Paris Ponts de Paris

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Fortunately, the river usually behaves itself, allowing millions of Parisians and tourists to walk along its banks, which are a favorite place for a picnic and relaxation:

 

Et à cette époque de l'année, les Parisiens ont pris l'habitude d'aller sur les quais pour pique-niquer, prendre l'air, surtout après le travail.

And at this time of year, Parisians have taken up the habit of going on the embankments to picnic, take in the fresh air, especially after work.

Captions 23-24, Lionel L La Place des Vosges

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Until 2002, Parisians could only walk along the Seine, and sunbathing was not an option until the city of Paris created an artificial beach by bringing in tons of sand along the riverbanks. The beach, known as Paris-Plage (Paris-Beach), celebrated its twenty-second season in 2024. In this video, Parisians are enjoying its 2016 edition:

 

Paris-Plage c'est parti pour l'édition deux mille seize, euh...

Paris-Beach has taken off for the two thousand sixteen edition, uh...

Caption 1, Lionel L Paris-Plage - Part 1

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Since 2002, Parisians have been able to sunbathe by the water en maillot de bain (in bathing suits) right in the heart of Paris:

 

Comme vous pouvez le voir derrière moi, des gens sont en maillot de bain, sur Paris...

As you can see behind me, people are in swimsuits, in Paris...

Captions 2-3, Lionel L Paris-Plage - Part 1

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However, there was still one missing vital ingredient: l’accès à l’eau (access to the water). It was forbidden to se baigner (to swim) at the time of the video in 2016:

 

La chose qui manque foncièrement à la partie centrale de Paris-Plage où nous sommes aujourd'hui sur les quais, c'est l'accès à l'eau. En fait, on ne peut pas se baigner...

The thing that's entirely missing from the central part of Paris-Beach, where we are today on the docks, is water access. In fact, you can't swim...

Captions 12-15, Lionel L Paris-Plage - Part 1

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That was then… Fast-forward to 2024, and it is now possible to swim in the Seine thanks to the 2024 Paris Olympics, which created an impetus for having the water assainie (cleaned up), a vast improvement that pleases Sophie:

 

Mais déjà, le fait qu'ils essayent d'assainir complètement la Seine, je trouve que c'est génial.

But first of all, the fact that they're trying to completely clean up the Seine, I think that it's awesome.

Captions 16-17, Sophie et Patrice Les Jeux olympiques de Paris 2024

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Indeed, in July 2024, the city of Paris succeeded in its mammoth cleanup effort, and the Seine was officially declared swimmable, or un endroit de baignade (a swimming spot): 

 

On se dit la Seine va devenir un endroit de baignade.

We're thinking the Seine is going to become a swimming spot.

Caption 19, Sophie et Patrice Les Jeux olympiques de Paris 2024

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But still, it took a little coaxing from the mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, who took a dip herself to get Olympic athlètes to finally accepter (agree) to swim in the Seine:

 

Et donc les athlètes ont donc accepté de le faire.

And so the athletes therefore agreed to do it.

Caption 35, Sophie et Patrice Les Jeux olympiques de Paris 2024

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Not only was the Seine the setting for some Olympic water sports events, it was also center stage for la cérémonie d’ouverture des Jeux Olympiques de Paris (the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics) for the first time in history, according to this article:

 

Le vendredi 26 juillet 2024 va se dérouler la cérémonie d'ouverture des Jeux Olympiques de Paris 2024 et pour la première fois de l’histoire, elle n’aura pas lieu dans un stade mais sur la Seine.

On July 26, 2024 the opening ceremony of the 2024 Paris Olympic Games will take place, and for the first time in history, it will not take place in a stadium but on the Seine.

 

The Seine also played a major role in history back in 2019, during the devastating fire in the iconic Notre-Dame Cathedral. It provided a much-needed water source for firefighters to douse the cathedral using des bateaux-pompes (fire boats):

 

Un premier bateau-pompe vient augmenter la quantité d'eau disponible

A first fire boat comes to increase the quantity of water available

Caption 11, Le Monde Incendie de Notre-Dame : comment on a échappé au pire - Part 2

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In fact, it took two bateaux-pompes to provide enough water pour ralentir le feu (to slow down the fire):

 

Le feu semble ralentir.

The fire seems to be slowing down.

Caption 25, Le Monde Incendie de Notre-Dame : comment on a échappé au pire - Part 2

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In conclusion, not only has the Seine shaped the lives of Parisians for many years, but it was also the unsung hero that helped save Notre-Dame from destruction in 2019, and later became a central feature of the 2024 Paris Olympics. The Seine will always remain an integral part of Parisian life. For more wandering along the Seine, check out these Yabla videos. Thank you for reading!

Vocabulary

Les Jeux Olympiques: Is Paris Ready?

Paris is hosting the Olympics this year, hoping to dazzle participants and viewers around the world. But first, the organizers have had to overcome some major hurdles, like cleaning the Seine for the swimming events and getting rid of unsightly trash, among other things. In this lesson we will focus on what Sophie and Patrice have to say about the games and how, as Parisians, the preparations for the games affect them. 

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In this video, Patrice starts with a joke, claiming that he has been sélectionné (selected) for the games:

 

J'ai été sélectionné aux Jeux olympiques.

I was selected for the Olympic Games.

Caption 1, Sophie et Patrice Les Jeux olympiques de Paris 2024

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Actually, the only épreuve (sporting event) he will be participating in, as Sophie jokingly points out, is going on holiday to get away from all the fuss. In fact, Sophie is teasing Patrice, pretending to feel sorry for him by making a pun on the word épreuve, which also means “ordeal”:  

 

L'épreuve de partir en vacances très, très loin de Paris, tu veux dire ?

The event of going on vacation very, very far from Paris, you mean?

Caption 7, Sophie et Patrice Les Jeux olympiques de Paris 2024

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As for the athletes, they will participate in actual sporting events—épreuves—some of them traditional, like la course et le lancer (running and throwing), and some created from scratch. The host country can create a new discipline if they wish:

 

Comme dans les jeux antiques, on trouve des épreuves de course et de lancer. Mais on innove en créant une épreuve de toutes pièces : le marathon.

As in the ancient games, you can find running and throwing events. But they innovate by creating an event from scratch: the marathon.

Captions 57-61, Jamy Epicurieux La drôle d'histoire des JO (Jeux Olympiques) - Part 1

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This year, France has introduced a new discipline, breakdancing:

 

Le breakdance fera partie des Jeux olympiques à partir de 2024.

Breakdancing will be part of the Olympics as of 2024.

 

Some disciplines, like the swimming events, have been quite a headache for the organizers. According to this article, “After years of promises and more than $1 billion of investment, Paris’s once-filthy river is finally swimmable.” The mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, even took a dip in the Seine to show that the river is safe to swim in. And in his video, Patrice tells us the water has been assainie (sanitized) for the athletes: 

 

Ah bon ? -Donc ils ont assaini, assaini, assaini

Oh yeah? -So they sanitized, sanitized, sanitized

Caption 30, Sophie et Patrice Les Jeux olympiques de Paris 2024

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Finally, les athlètes (the athletes) agreed to swim in the Seine:

 

Et donc les athlètes ont donc accepté de le faire.

And so the athletes therefore agreed to do it.

Caption 35, Sophie et Patrice Les Jeux olympiques de Paris 2024

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These are just a few of the challenges that the organizers face. For all that, Sophie is thrilled that the Olympic Games are being organisés (held) in Paris:

 

C'est génial que les Jeux olympiques soient organisés à Paris. 

It's great that the Olympic Games are being held in Paris.

Caption 48, Sophie et Patrice Les Jeux olympiques de Paris 2024

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Nevertheless, Sophie thinks the city of Paris could have done a better job of addressing the ongoing problem of poverty, which she thinks has simply been pushed out of sight:

 

Mais ce que je vois quand même, c'est que on repousse toute la misère à la périphérie.

But what I see, in any event, is that we're pushing all the poverty to the periphery.

Captions 51-52, Sophie et Patrice Les Jeux olympiques de Paris 2024

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The same goes for the trash problem, which is bound to get worse with the influx of extra visitors:

 

Mais c'est le propre de l'être humain en fait de repousser les problèmes sans les régler, comme les poubelles

But that's the peculiarity of human beings, in fact, to push away problems without resolving them, like the trash cans

Captions 61-63, Sophie et Patrice Les Jeux olympiques de Paris 2024

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There has been another controversy surrounding the Olympics: the decision to relocate les bouquinistes (secondhand booksellers along the Seine) for security reasons. The bouquinistes, who are considered a symbol of Paris, fought back and managed to overturn that decision, to their great relief

 

Les bouquinistes sont heureux et soulagés de pouvoir rester sur les quais de la Seine.

The secondhand booksellers are happy and relieved to be able to stay on the banks of the Seine.

 

Meanwhile, let's not forget about the stars of the show, the athletes, who are eager for the games to start. Still claiming to be one of them, Patrice concludes the video with another joke, telling Sophie that he has some kind of training to do… (Maybe for some holiday acitivities?)

 

Tiens. Viens, regarde. Je te montre comment je m'entraîne.

Here. Come, look. I'll show you how I train.

Caption 74, Sophie et Patrice Les Jeux olympiques de Paris 2024

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Now that the immense job of getting Paris ready for the Olympics is complete, the world is ready to enjoy les Jeux olympiques

Vocabulary

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Caption 74, 63, 62, 61, 52, 51, 48, 35, 30, 7, 1
Intermediate