5 feet 2 inches in French feet. This corresponds to 5 feet 7 inches in Imperial (British) feet, or 1.686 meters, making him slightly taller than an average Frenchman of the 19th century [3]. The metric system was introduced during his lifetime, so it was natural that he would be measured in feet and inches for much of his life. A French inch was 2.71 centimetres [4], an Imperial inch is 2.54 centimetres.