The funeral started in front of the town hall, in front of which was placed Quinon's coffin that was draped with the French flag. Two giant, black and white posters of Quinon hung from the balcony of the town hall. The French President Nicolas Sarkozy had a wreath of flowers delivered to the funeral. Albert Vatinet, the mayor of Bormes-les-Mimosas, was the first to deliver a eulogy in praise of his friend. "At present, you are next to the stars, at the summit of Mount Olympus," said Vatinet at the end of his eulogy. The French Sports Minister Chantal Jouanno sent a message of condolence that was read out to the crowd by a representative. In her message, Jouanno recalled the magical moment on 8 Aug 1984 when Quinon became an Olympic champion and announced that all French athletes at the upcoming 2011 World Championships in Athletics would wear black armbands. A very moved Stéphane Diagana, who was a friend of Quinon, read a hand-written letter from Jean Galfione, the 1996 Olympic Games pole vault gold medallist. In his letter, Galfione, who was then in the French city of Brest for a sailing competition (he had been practising sailing competitively since 2007), wrote, "It is thanks to you, Pierre, that I made my first pole vault. You will remain the best." and also expressed his admiration of Quinon - his "hero" - of whom he had a poster in his bedroom. In his eulogy, Diagana described Quinon as an "aesthete of life" who "took great delight in beautiful things".