Units of measurement in France before the French Revolution 4 parts in one million) than the "pied" used in France. According to the law of 19 Frimaire An VIII (December 10, 1799), Traditionally, the French pound ("livre") was defined as the mass of exactly of a French cubic foot of water. When the kilogram was defined, the knowledge that a "pied du Roi cube" filled with water masses exactly 70 French pounds was apparently lost. According to the traditional (cubic foot) definition, one "livre" would have been about 489.675 grams. According to the kilogramme definition, one "livre" was about 489.506 grammes. The difference is about 0.035%. However, a small
Pied-Noir French government's changed position towards Algeria. Until independence, Algeria was legally a part of France; after independence many felt that they had been betrayed and were now portrayed as an "embarrassment" to their country or to blame for the war. Most "Pied-Noirs" felt a powerful sense of loss and a longing for their lost homeland in Algeria. The American author Claire Messud remembered seeing her "pied-noir" father, a lapsed Catholic crying while watching Pope John Paul II deliver a Mass on his TV. When asked why, Messud "père" replied: “Because when I last heard the mass in Latin, I thought