Odd elec socket in France

[Maurice]

Came across this odd socket in a bedroom in a recently-built hotel in Provence.

Anyone know what it's for?

[Bob Minchin]

No but you can do a google image search which might throw up some useful info

[Robin]

FSVO "wrong"? I'd wondered idly if it was the French equivalent of a Walsall plug/socket for use for special circuits (IT? medical?). But I have bugger all evidence - it was pure speculation.

[Lobster]

On 31 May 2015, Bob Minchin grunted:

Yeah! See:

[John Rumm]

I had to smile:

(those look like they need a different type of plug!)

[Tim+]

To stop you plugging your own appliances in.

Tim

[damduck-egg]

So is it called a Le Blanc-Mesnil or a Mulhouse socket?

G.Harman

[Brian-Gaff]

Room service or alarm maybe? Brian

[Ian Jackson]

The French used to have a large, multi-pin phone socket - but this isn't it.

Whatever it's for, judging by the scuff marks it seems to have had a lot of use.

[Dave W]

I searched for '3-pole socket france' in Google image search. Here is the answer:

[Tim Streater]

Obviously not one of these, is it. Unless the earth pin is in the wrong hole, as I said.

[The Natural Philosopher]

Except it isn't the answer.

Because it clearly isn't the same...

[Syd Rumpo]

Is it for testing Photoshop?

Cheers

[Andy Burns]

I couldn't see it on any of the four pages of French plugs here, click the related galleries for more

[fred]

If the white portion is rotated 90 degrees anti clockwise the earth pin would then be in the correct position. Has the socket been incorrectly installed.

Some dimensions would be convenient and the location also. (i.e.) was it in the kitche or bathroon etc.

[damduck-egg]

Just a thought, that pin doesn't look that good a fit in the hole Could the socket be 3 pin variety and the actual earth hole is the one to the right of the photo and the pin is from a plug that in the unfamiliar environment of a Hotel somebody has forced a different type of plugtop/wallwart in and the pin has broken off. The containment looks a bit of an unusual surround for a socket and appears to have a sort of tide mark so a couple of other ideas is that a small lamp was located there and has gone missing leaving just its base which is part of a proprietary design,if the Hotel is recently built it may have been a quick change LED unit or a proprietary electric air freshener.

G.Harman

[Dave W]

Sorry - red face.

[Maurice]

Well, it certainly did - but there were other, normal, sockets.

Just a thought: The room's sockets are controlled by the presence/absence of a room entry card in a slot, i.e. the circuits are off when the card is missing. Perhaps this odd socket is always live, for use (with a matching plug) in an emergency?

[Maurice]

It was near a corner of a lounge wall, to the left of the dressing table.

[Dave W]

Sorry - red face. However, in the Wikipedia description of French CEE sockets, " the socket may not necessarily be installed with the earth pin at the top".