La Belle Vie is our regular look at the real culture of France – from language to cuisine, manners to films. This newsletter is published weekly and you can receive it directly to your inbox, by going to your newsletter preferences in “My account”.

Despite worries that it might be too bold to host an opening ceremony directly along the river Seine, France succeeded and wowed the world with an event that made Olympic history.

I sat in the crowd (under the rain) watching the ceremony from a fan zone at the Chateau de Vincennes. Even though I was not in the stands along the river, it was still emotional to be part of the crowd.

At one point, we looked up and realised we could make out part of the red heart that the Patrouille de France drew in the sky. There were also several audible gasps and clapping when the French pop star Aya Nakamura appeared.

I thoroughly enjoyed the opening ceremony, from the costumes to the dancing and the many hints at French history and culture, though some references were a bit more obscure than others.

How many of the French references did you get in the Olympics opening ceremony?

With all the effort that has gone into cleaning up the Seine – which hopefully will be open for the public to swim in 2025 – I’ve been thinking of France’s other rivers. 

Last autumn, I visited Basel, Switzerland and was amazed by the number of people just floating along the river with their colourful dry bags. Unfortunately, most of France’s major rivers are not safe or clean enough to allow for river-commuting.

Can you swim in France’s major rivers?

Technically, there is no national ban on swimming in rivers or lakes, but local authorities do set up their own restrictions based on safety risks associated with the water or health concerns due to pollution. 

But if you are curious about a body of water nearby, you can actually go directly onto an interactive map created by French health authorities to check the cleanliness of the water. 

MAP: How to check the quality of the bathing water in France’s seas and lakes

This might come in handy if you ever decide to go on a road trip in France, or perhaps if you want to rent a campervan. The Local’s Ben McPartland has joined the ‘van life’ craze, having done it three times with young kids in tow. 

He has put together some of the lessons he has learned along the way, plus the important bits about where to actually drive the campervan in France.

Essential tips for your campervan holiday in France

On the subject of holidays, I’ve noticed that as the month of August rolls around, some variation of the same joke comes up on American-run social media accounts.

It basically goes: “I sent an email to my French colleague, but he said he’s out of the office the entire month of August!” It might be followed by a photo of a beautiful European holiday location.

It is true that large cities such as Paris slow down quite a bit in August, but I don’t know if it’s fair to say the entire country shuts down for four weeks.

Factcheck: Do French people really take off the entire month of August?

If all French people were off on holiday during August, then there would be no concept of the two summer holiday tribes – the Juilletistes and the Aoûtiens.

This decades-old rivalry centres on holiday timing preferences, and it culminates in a very busy weekend for traffic as July ends and August begins.

Juilletistes vs Aoûtiens: Do France’s two summer holiday tribes still exist?