The River Seine was to reopen to swimmers on Saturday in Paris after a century-long ban on taking a dip in the waterway, offering locals in the French capital and tourists a welcome respite after a week of scorching temperatures.

Parisians rushed for a dip in the Seine as authorities opened the river to public swimming for the first time since 1923 after an extensive clean-up operation spurred on by it being used last year as a venue in the Paris Olympics.

Cries of “It is warm!” rang out across the Seine on Saturday morning as Parisians jumped into the river — legally — for the first time in more than 100 years. Public swimming was allowed in designated areas of the Seine,