During the French Revolution, French scientists decided that it would be better to have a new system of weights and measures. The system would be the same in all French provinces and cities. They also decided that it would be easier if the new system used 10's instead of 12's, 16's or 20's, because people normally count in 10's. The new system became the official system of measurement in France in 1799. One of the French leaders, the Marquis de Condorcet declared that "[the metric system] is for all people for all time".