The Paris meridian is a meridian line running through the Paris Observatory in Paris, France – now longitude 2°20′14.02500″ East.
It was a long-standing rival to the Greenwich meridian as the prime meridian of the world.
The "Paris meridian arc" or "French meridian arc" (French: la Méridienne de France) is the name of the meridian arc measured along the Paris meridian.
It (the Greenwich meridian) became the standard via weight of maps and naval strength of the British, there are many maps from the early days that don't follow the Greenwich standard, enough so that "wrong longitude because we assumed wrong meridian" is a minor trope in treasure map stories.
It (the Greenwich meridian) became the standard via weight of maps and naval strength of the British, there are many maps from the early days that don't follow the Greenwich standard, enough so that "wrong longitude because we assumed wrong meridian" is a minor trope in treasure map stories.