Point zéro des routes de France, Road marking at Parvis Notre-Dame - Place Jean-Paul II, France

Point Zero is a small bronze medallion set into the pavement in front of Notre-Dame Cathedral, marking the center point from which all road distances in France are measured. This metal disc with radiating lines indicates the official location where every kilometer across the country is calculated from.

In the Middle Ages a post called the échelle de justice stood near the cathedral's north portal, where condemned people knelt barefoot holding a yellow wax candle. It was replaced in 1767 or 1768 by a pillory, adopted as the zero point by letters patent of Louis XV on 22 April 1769 and first marked by a milestone by royal letter of 22 April 1786. The bronze-and-stone marker was discussed from 1912 and laid in 1924, removed in 1966 and reinstated in 1972 after excavations led to the archaeological crypt.

The slab's four stone quarters each carry one word of the inscription: POINT, ZÉRO, DES ROUTES, DE FRANCE. The spot is also a stage for performances: on 11 July 2010 the artist Hamish Fulton walked seven times from here to the metre standard in rue de Vaugirard, counting 4,116 steps between the two points.

The marker is located on the Parvis Notre-Dame in front of the cathedral and can be easy to miss since it sits flush with the ground. Look down carefully for a small circular bronze disc with raised line patterns when walking across this plaza.

On 10 November 2006, surveyors of the Teria network measured the medallion's coordinates to the centimetre in Lambert 93 projection: X = 652,215.52, Y = 6,861,681.77, Z = 35.64, or 48°51′12.24845″ N, 2°20′55.62563″ E. A video was filmed that day for the network's promotion. In 2010 the artist Hamish Fulton walked seven times from here to the metre standard in rue de Vaugirard, counting 4,116 steps.