“It’s pure happiness,” Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo, a member of France’s Parti Socialiste (PS), said of her much publicized swim in the Seine a few days before the start of the Olympic Games. “We have been dreaming of this for years,” she added. Although the long-term success of the river cleanup is still uncertain, the €1.4 billion investment made swimming possible for the duration of the Olympics. It was a small victory for mayor Hidalgo, who has faced many detractors in recent years.

After initially rejecting the idea, Hidalgo became one of the Paris Olympics’ biggest champions. In spite of the financial risks associated with hosting such an event, Hidalgo appears to have seen significant political value in the games.

The example of Boris Johnson on the other side of the channel, who leveraged the 2012 London Olympics to boost his popularity and eventually become prime minister, is likely a factor in her strategy.