Water and gas: Early developments in the utility networks of Paris

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Notes

¹This historical account of water supply in Paris is based on Vassal, Cebron de Lisle, and Beaumont-Maillet.

²This section is based on Cebron de Lisle, Reid, and Dupuy and Knaebel.

³This historical account of gas supply in Paris is mainly based on Williot 1989, Williot 1990, Berlanstein, Besnard, and Williot 1999.

⁴Orders of the Seine prefect, 12 November 1835 et 5 June 1838.

⁵Note that excessive prices will later cause a major dispute between the city and the then unified company at the end of the 1870s.

⁶Even though this initially applied to street lighting only, it had a direct impact on private distribution of gas networks: the mains sunk into the streets were common to both purposes!

⁷For a survey of technological innovation during that period see Williot 1987.

⁸In French administrative law, the term “police regulations” refers to the set of regulations imposed by public authorities on the behaviors of individuals (including as regards utility services, e.g., compulsory subscription to specific services) and of collective actors. The phrase “service provision” refers to the action of public authorities aimed at supplying a public service, whether directly or through a private sub-contractor.

⁹This leads to a more general point, namely that the city council and other actors had different perceptions and discourses and took different actions regarding the different utilities.