The starting stage that was across the Seine, close to the Eiffel Tower, consisted of 102 linkable pontoons from Mijdrecht. At the site, the river is 140 meters wide and 4.5 meters deep. The participants had to dive into the water from this pontoon. Unfortunately, Van Schie’s green and yellow colors were not allowed to shine, but were anxiously covered with the blue of “the games. Incidentally, these were not the only pontoons brought to Paris by trucks from the Netherlands. Van Schie also built three floating jetties of VSP pontoons along the banks – well outside the festivities – where dignitaries and other guests could board salon boats and then be ferried to the opening ceremony. Another problem could also be solved with pontoons. In view of tightened security measures, there was a need for an additional police station, so a floating police station was also built for the French gendarmerie on 18 container pontoons. Unfortunately, there are no images of this, as this regiment of policemen had to be able to operate unobtrusively in case of emergencies. During the Olympics, a total of 45,000 officers and gendarmes were deployed for security. Especially the opening ceremony with the boat parade on the Seine required many measures.
