Céline Fellag Ariouet (BIPM) participated in the radio show Sciences Chrono on France Culture, hosted by Antoine Beauchamp, on 27 September 2024. The show was dedicated to the epic journey and geodetic survey undertaken by Jean-Baptiste Delambre and Pierre Méchain in 1792–1798 that led to the metre becoming a natural and universal unit of measurement. Their survey was commissioned by the French Academy of Sciences to measure an arc section of the Paris meridian between Dunkirk and Barcelona. This measurement was the basis of the original definition of the metre.

The radio show provided an opportunity to give listeners a history of the BIPM and the plans for the celebration of its 150th anniversary in 2025.

Listen to a podcast of the show

Pierre Méchain (left) and Jean-Baptiste Delambre (right)