The Hôtel de Saint Fiacre was an inn and tavern on Rue Saint-Martin in Paris.[1] It was identified by its sign showing Saint Fiacre,[2] from the 1640s its proprietor was known to operate fiacres (carriages for hire).[3] Through this association Saint Fiacre has become the patron saint of taxi drivers.[4]
In 1645, Nicholas Sauvage, proprietor in Paris of the coaches for Amiens, decided to set up a business in which horses and carriages were to be kept in Paris and rented out. He set himself up in the Hôtel de Saint Fiacre and rented out his four-seater carriages at 10 sols an hour. Within twenty years, Sauvage's idea had developed into the first citywide public transport system "les carossses à 5 sols" ("5-sol carriages").[5] The sign of the inn was known to display an image of the saint.