Gaz à tous les étages
Gaz à tous les étages (gas on all floors) is a sign often found on house facades in old French buildings , which appeared towards the end of the 19th century when town gas gradually replaced kerosene lamps, candles and coal stoves in large cities. In some cases, there is also a reference to running water in the building ( Eau et gaz à tous les étages ). A reference to electricity, however, is rare.
The affixing of such a sign is not compulsory, therefore, conversely, the absence of this sign cannot lead to the conclusion that the house has no gas connection. Signs of this type were originally a sign of middle-class living culture and were intended to show the public and potential new tenants what comfort the house already had.
Although running water, gas and electricity are taken for granted in homes in France today, these signs are usually not removed because of traditional awareness.
In Strasbourg , the inscription is mostly in German: "Gas on all floors" , even on buildings that were only built after the end of the empire of Alsace-Lorraine .
Others
- Serge Gainsbourg wrote a song entitled: "Eau et Gaz à tous les étages".
- The second volume of the comic series Les Femmes en blanc from 1987 has the title: " Gaze à tous les étages".
