Since the very beginning, the Observatory had depended on the Academy of Sciences, which was shut down by the Revolution. The National Convention thus decided to create the Bureau des longitudes, whose designated purpose was to “help the merchant navy and commerce through the development of astronomy… The contract of the Bureau includes the Paris National Observatory… and all the astronomical instruments which belong to the Nation.” The Bureau governed, in practice, all of French astronomy. This situation lasted until 1854.

caption : Minutes of the creation of the Bureau des Longitudes - credits : Observatoire de Paris