In 1667, under Louis XIV, the Lieutenant General of Police Gabriel Nicolas de La Reynie had 2,800 candlelit lanterns installed on the first floor of corner houses in order to make the streets of the capital safer. The system was then reinforced with lanterns suspended every 60 metres. In 1763, the invention of the oil lamp with reflectors led to a small technical revolution and made street lighting much more powerful. In 1855, Napoleon III and the prefect Haussmann generalised the installation of gas street lamps in worked cast iron. The municipal lighting of Paris was born.