"We are in the middle of working on it and I do not want to get drawn into disputes over figures," she said.

"It is useless to throw out guide figures today, because we are working on different parameters, how do they gain access and by what means?"

Valérie Pécresse, President of  Île-de-France Mobilités, the public transport authority for the area, had earlier called for an upper limit of 500,000 spectators.

It has been estimated that the crowds for the Ceremony could well exceed 600,000.

This would include 100,000 ticket holders and a further 500,000 on the high quays above the river from Pont d’Austerlitz to Pont d’Iéna - a distance of six kilometres.

The parade on river craft could potentially feature around 10,500 athletes from over 200 countries.

Hidalgo insisted the city authorities were working "very, very seriously" with French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin and Paris 2024 President Tony Estanguet to plan the Opening Ceremony.

"So that it is both beautiful, extraordinary, safe for the athletes who will parade on boats and also for all the spectators," Hidalgo added.

"There are spectators who will gain access with tickets because that they will have bought them and then there is a will on our part, and which we carried with Tony Estanguet, to have spectators who will come to the high quays."

Hidalgo pointed out that on New Year’s Eve, crowds of over a million had made their way to the Champs Elysees to celebrate the New Year.

"What matters to me is that the work is done in good intelligence with respect for everyone's role," insisted Hidalgo.

The Paris 2024 Olympics are scheduled to open on July 26 2024.