Paris 2024 chief 'confident' River Seine will be used

The opening ceremony of the Olympics along the River Seine could be moved if the security risk is deemed too high

Paris 2024 president Tony Estanguet is "confident" it will be possible to use the River Seine at the Olympics this summer, despite latest results showing it is still failing water quality tests.

The Paris mayor's office released results of the most recent tests done, which showed the levels of E.Coli remain above the upper limits imposed by sports federations.

On 18 June, the level of E.Coli was 10 times the acceptable level and did not fall below the upper limit of 1,000 colony-forming units per 100 millilitres (cfu/ml) used by the World Triathlon Federation.

"Water quality remains degraded because of unfavourable hydrological conditions, little sunshine, below-average seasonal temperatures and upstream pollution," the mayor's office said in a statement.

The Olympics start on 26 July, with the men's and women's triathlon scheduled for 30 and 31 July respectively and the mixed event on 5 August.

The Seine is also set to host marathon swimming at the Olympics on 8 and 9 August and the Para-triathlon event at the Paralympics, which start on 28 August.

"We are still confident with the delivery of the competitions in the River Seine," said Estanguet.

"We knew from the beginning that the plan that we decided was really aligned with good conditions at the end of July. Now we are entering the final lap and the good zone."

Heavy rain in the days leading up to events could raise levels of bacteria in the water.

The Open Water Swimming World Cup and the swimming leg of the World Triathlon Para Cup - both test events for the 2024 Games - were called off in August because of water quality issues, although the World Triathlon test event went ahead later that month.

Organisers say about 1.4bn euro (£1.2bn) is being spent on a regeneration project to make the Seine safe to swim in, including a rainwater storage basin to try to reduce the risks of pollution.

The opening ceremony of the Olympics is set to be the first to be held outside a stadium, with more than 10,000 athletes expected to sail along a 6km stretch of the River Seine on some 160 barges.

However, French President Emmanuel Macron says it could be moved if the security risk is too high.

Meanwhile, with currents unusually strong, organisers cancelled the first full practice session for the ceremony on Monday.