Rapporteur Charles-Gilbert Romme of the Jacobin-controlled National Convention, under whom the calendar was commissioned.

Bienvenue au calendrier républicain français!

During the French Revolution of the 1790s, the government was seized by a new class of people who were tired of the Ancient Regime and were dead set on toppling ancient traditions. They attacked the monarchy, decapitating the king and forming a new republic represented by the people. And then they went after the church in a nationwide campaign of dechristianization, stripping the priests of land and tythes and forcing them to make oaths to the new government over their own god. Traditions for traditions sake was suddenly seen as harmful for the success of this new republic, and it was rooted out in violent, sometimes cruel fashion.

It was the height of the age of enlightenment, and this new government (who refered to themselves at the time as "The National Convention") was obsessed with finding all manner of ways to replace these harmful old traditions with newer, smarter, more enlightened ways of doing things. And one of the things they set their sights on was the Gregorian calendar: Named after a Christian Pope? Numeration of years starting at the death of a Christian prophet? Months and weekdays named after various gods and goddesses? It absolutely had to go, but what would they replace it with?

The National Convention turned to this new idea of decimalization for an answer, as working with factors of 10 seemed to be all the rage at the time. It was seen as the golden number, a ratio so perfect and logical that it was worthy to replace the rustic, stupid (but mostly: harmful) traditional, churchly ways of old. This new government sought to apply this sort of decimalization anywhere it could, from the newly adopted metric system of measurements, to a new decimalized currency, to re-organizing time itself into a 10-hour day! (Sadly, the new clock was extremely unpopular and the idea dropped after a few months)

The newly-minted French Republican Calendar was implemented in 1793 and stuck around for over a decade until Napoleon rose to power and put an end to it.

How the Calendar Works:

  • 360 Days, each one with a poetic dedication to a particular aspect of 18th century life, like a plant or a mineral.
  • 10 Weekdays, with simple numerical names from Primidi (The First Day) to Décadi (The Tenth Day).
  • 12 Months, each one with an agricultural name, and categorized by season.

Days of Rest:

  • Quintidi, the 5th day of each week was reserved as a day of rest and relaxation, each one with a poetic dedication to a particular animal
  • Décadi, the 10th day of each week was reserved as a day of rest and festivity, each one with a poetic dedication to a particular farm tool
  • Les Sans-Culottides, The five days (or six, on leap years) at the end of the year, meant as a sort of week of holiday, each one jm

It was decided that the calendar should start on the same day that the monarchy was officially abolished: September 22, 1792 (or Vendémiaire 1, Year One)

The Twelve Months

The Ten Weekdays

  • Primidi (First Day)
  • Duodi (Second Day)
  • Tridi (Third Day)
  • Quartidi (Fourth Day)
  • Quintidi (Fifth Day) dedicated to animals
  • Sextidi (Sixth Day)
  • Septidi (Seventh Day)
  • Octidi (Eighth Day)
  • Nonidi (Ninth Day)
  • Décadi (Tenth Day) dedicated to working tools