thumb|upright=1.2|Pavillon de Breteuil, Saint-Cloud, France, the home of the metric system since 1875 The French Revolution (1789–99) enabled France to reform its many outdated systems of various local weights and measures. In 1790, Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord proposed a new system based on natural units to the French National Assembly, aiming for global adoption. With the United Kingdom not responding to a request to collaborate in the development of the system, the French Academy of Sciences established a commission to implement this new standard alone, and in 1799, the new system was launched in France.
thumb|upright=1.2|Pavillon de Breteuil Saint-Cloud, France, the home of the metric system since 1875 The French Revolution (1789–99) enabled France to reform its many outdated systems of various local weights and measures. In 1790, Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord proposed a new system based on natural units to the French National Assembly aiming for global adoption. With the United Kingdom not responding to a request to collaborate in the development of the system, the French Academy of Sciences established a commission to implement this new standard alone and in 1799, the new system was launched in France.