France celebrates: Meter measure turns 225 years old

Paris- France quietly celebrates an important anniversary on Tuesday: Exactly 225 years ago, the length dimension meter and thus the metric system was introduced by law. The French Revolution of 1789 swept away the privileges of the nobility and also wanted to standardize dimensions and weights. The 1795 law was a consequence of this. Largely unnoticed by locals and tourists, there is still a standard meter in Paris near the Senate. At the end of the 18th century, 16-meter dimensions were installed in busy locations in the metropolis to familiarize the population with the new unit. The meter on the chic Rue de Vaugirard (picture) is the last one that is still in its original place. The introduction of the meter meant a complete change for people at the time – roughly comparable to the introduction of the euro around 200 years later. TEH