[en] The author reports results obtained by rigorous analysis of a nonlinear differential equation for the electron density nsub(e) in a specific type of electrical discharge. The problem is essentially two-dimensional. She discusses in particular the escape of electrons to infinity above a critical temperature and the boundary layer exhibited by nsub(e) near zero temperature. A singular boundary value problem arising in a pre-breakdown gas discharge is discussed. A Coulomb gas is considered in a special experimental situation: the pre-breakdown gas discharge between two electrodes. The equation for the negative charge density can be formulated as a nonlinear parabolic equation degenerate at the origin. The existence and uniqueness of the solution are proved as well as the asymptotic stability of its unique steady state. Some results are also given about the rate of convergence. The variational characterisation of the limit solution of a singular perturbation problem and variational analysis of a perturbed free boundary problem are considered. (Auth./C.F.)