The French Revolutionary Calendar

After the French Revolution and for just over a decade, France turned to a completely different calendar, even choosing to have a different clock, in an attempt to erase the influence of royalty and religion on every day life.

A month called Fremaire? 100 minutes in an hour? Years marked with Roman numerals? What was going on?

The French Revolution convulsed France. The Ancien Régime was toppled, heads rolled, and new leaders strove to remake the country. This “Republican Era” would see many changes, like new calendars and new clocks that are today historical curiosities, but which changed daily life in France for years.

The Age of Reason

The French Revolution was suffused with Enlightenment thinking and a hunger for rationality. Why, the revolutionaries wondered, is a week seven days long? Why are there 24 hours in a day? Wouldn’t a decimal system be more logical?

Thus began a nationwide program of decimalization. The first to change were weights and measures—the pied du roi (king’s foot), that dated back to Charlemagne, was still in use. Now came a decimalized system, with units like metres and litres.

Time also received the decimal treatment: henceforth there would be 10 hours in a day, 100 minutes in an hour, and 100 seconds in a minute.

A New Calendar

Replacing the Gregorian calendar presented challenges, starting with the fact that a year has 365 days—not easily decimalized. And what about the names of days and months? Religious and royalist influences had to be eliminated.

The Legislative Assembly appointed a commission of politicians, scientists, and authors to develop a new calendar. The result was the French Republican calendar, commonly known as the French Revolutionary calendar.

In some respects, it hewed closely to the existing calendar, with a year of 12 months of 30 days each, plus 5-6 extra days at the end. But within each month, the commission leaned into the decimal logic.

Weeks would now be ten days long and would be called décades. Three décades would make a month, and the days of the week were a mouthful: primidi, duodi, tridi, quartidi, quintidi, sextidi, septidi, octidi, nonidi, and décadi. The tenth day of the week was a day of rest, replacing the traditional Sunday.

Naming the Months

This is where the commissioners really got creative. They made up a whole set of new words, generally with French or Latin roots.

Fall 

•   Vendémiaire (from French vendange ‘grape harvest’) 
•   Brumaire (from French brume ‘mist’) 
•   Frimaire (from French frimas ‘frost’)

Winter 

•   Nivôse (from Latin nivosus ‘snowy’) 
•   Pluviôse (from French pluvieux ‘rainy’) 
•   Ventôse (from French venteux ‘windy’) 

Spring 

•   Germinal (from French germination) 
•   Floréal (from French fleur ‘flower’) 
•   Prairial (from French prairie ‘meadow’)

Summer 

•   Messidor (from Latin messis ‘harvest’) 
•   Thermidor (from Greek thermē ‘summer heat’) 
•   Fructidor (from Latin fructus ‘fruit’)

When Does Time Begin?

Eliminating religion references meant that marking years as A.D., starting with the birth of Jesus Christ, was out of the question. So when should the Republican Era begin?

Some argued for July 14, 1789, the day the Bastille was stormed, others for January 1, 1793, the first full year of the French Republic.

Finally, it was agreed that the calendar would align with the proclamation of the French Republic on September 21, 1792. Thus, the first year began on September 22, 1792 and future years would begin on the day of the autumnal equinox. There was great nostalgia for the Roman Republic at the time, so years would have Roman numbers: Year I, Year II, etc.

Reception 

While the changes were dictated by law, they weren’t all well accepted. 

The system of new hours and minutes did not catch on. Tracking time meant designing new clocks, which proved difficult and unpopular. 

The ten-day week was also unpopular, especially the day of rest. In the old calendar it was once every seven days, now it was only once in ten days!

And the names of days and months were mocked, especially abroad. One British wit called the months Wheezy, Sneezy, and Freezy; Slippy, Drippy, and Nippy; Showery, Flowery, and Bowery; and Hoppy, Croppy, and Poppy.

Legacy

The new system did not last long. Mandatory use of the new clocks was suspended after two years and quickly faded away. Next went the names of the days, and Sunday again was the day of rest.

Use of the calendar continued, but the Coup of 18 Brumaire (November 9, 1799) was the beginning of the end. This is when Napoleon took power, and the French Revolution ended.

The Revolutionary calendar was finally abolished on January 1, 1806, after being used for just 12 years. It was briefly revived during the Paris Commune of 1871, but only for a few weeks.

The greatest legacy of this mania for decimalization was the creation of what is today known as the metric system. This not only established itself in France, but it has subsequently spread throughout the world—except for the United States and the United Kingdom, where inches and feet (Charlemagne’s?) still hold sway.