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I came upon this sentence in Jacques Perret's story 'Trafic de Chevaux' (1951):
... on s'étonnait fort de voir confier de si fiers palefrois à la plus indescriptible andouille de l'Empire Britannique ...
and notice the lack of a subject for the infinitive confier. Is this construction (with the subject of the infinitive only implied) very common?
This construction is common.
J'ai vu tirer sur la foule.
J'ai vu battre le blé noir au fléau et traire à la main des vaches qu'on attelait au joug pour tirer la charrue. (Denis Trinillac)
J'entends chanter la Marseillaise. (technically ambiguous: J'entends chanter ma voisine !)
Confier is a complement of voir, it has no subject indeed.
Who performs/performed the action is not relevant in the sentence which could have been written, without any substantial change in meaning :
[...] on s'étonnait fort de voir de si fiers palefrois confiés à la plus indescriptible andouille de l'Empire Britannique [...]
