The very first attempt to register vehicles in France date from the 18th century. In 1749, a Marechaussee officer from Paris suggested a system of vehicle identification to Louis XV. His idea only concerned Paris, where crimes were numerous in the streets.Catalogue de l'exposition Gabriel de Saint-Aubin, New York, Paris, 2007–2008, texte de Kim de Beaumont, Gabriel de Saint-Aubin revisté : le contexte biographique de ses œuvres parisiennes, note 51 page 46. No decision was taken until 1783, when Louis XVI required coachmen to put a metal plate with their name and address on their carriage.Recueil général des anciennes lois françaises : depuis l'an 420 ..., Volume 27, par Athanase-Jean-Léger Jourdan, Decrusy, François-André Isambert.
