Abstract

The end of the nineteenth century in France was characterized by the 'hygienisation' of the country. The combined efforts of the political and medical authorities caused the sanitary preoccupations of the moment to be imposed progressively on the nation. The authorities' concern for the cleanliness and physical hygiene of the population meant that the question of bathing and places to bathe was studied by those in charge nationally and locally at an early stage. Any legislation proposed had also to take into consideration the issues of moraliy and safety. The ecconomy however exerted its usual arbitrary influence on the political powers of the time. Different examples show that the French local authorities put forward several solutions to the problem of where to bathe, at a time when the swimming pool industry was slowly growing and physical educationists were beginning to consider swimming the ideal sport. Paris, Lille, Lyon - three large cities in the centre, north and south of France - were the first to illustrate the solution found to the problem, a solution which was to have different consequences for the local development of swimming as a sport a few years later. Eaton