Fiacre

## Overview

A fiacre was a horse-drawn hackney carriage available for hire on the streets of Paris and other French cities — the 19th-century equivalent of a taxi. The name derives from the Hôtel de Saint Fiacre in Paris, where the first carriages for hire were stationed in 1640.

## Description

Fiacres were typically: - Enclosed four-wheeled carriages, often battered and not fashionable - Driven by a cocher (coachman) who sat on an elevated front seat - Available at designated stations (stations de fiacre) throughout the city - Hired by the course (trip) or by the hour - Numbered and regulated by the city authorities

## Social Significance

In Marie's social world, the distinction between riding in one's own carriage and taking a fiacre was significant. A private carriage with livery announced wealth and status; a fiacre was anonymous and classless. Marie uses the contrast pointedly: when she notes that someone arrived "en fiacre" rather than in their own carriage, she is commenting on their reduced circumstances or their desire for anonymity.

In one revealing passage (1874-06-04), she observes Fedus "en phaéton, pas en fiacre; le fiacre vaudrait mieux car c'est sa voiture, elle est bien misérable" — his own vehicle is more wretched than a hired cab. The fiacre also provided anonymity for discreet movements: Marie deduces Audiffret's overnight visit to Gioia because a fiacre (not his own carriage) passes at 10:30 am.

## Marie's Usage

- 1873-07-20 (carnet 007): Going to the music with Paul "en fiacre" - 1873-09-11 (carnet 009): Running errands with Paul in a fiacre - 1874-06-05 (carnet 020): Shopping in Paris "en fiacre" - 1874-09-29 (carnet 024): Hired carriage travel - 1879-12-21 (carnet 086): "Nous montons déjà en fiacre" — boarding a cab - 1881-08-18 (carnet 092): "en fiacre" — urban transport

## Related Terms

- *Voiture — general term; one's own carriage signals ownership - Calèche — open carriage, more elegant - Coupé — enclosed carriage (also a train compartment type) - Omnibus* — public horse-drawn bus, even less prestigious