Loire (; ; frp, Lêre; oc, Léger or ''Leir'') is a landlocked
department
Department may refer to:
* Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility
Government and military
*Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...
in the
Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes (ARA; ; frp, Ôvèrgne-Rôno-Ârpes; oc, Auvèrnhe Ròse Aups; it, Alvernia-Rodano-Alpi) is a region in southeast-central France created by the 2014 territorial reform of French regions; it resulted from the merger of Au ...
prefecture
A prefecture (from the Latin ''Praefectura'') is an administrative jurisdiction traditionally governed by an appointed prefect. This can be a regional or local government subdivision in various countries, or a subdivision in certain international ...
is
Saint-Étienne
Saint-Étienne (; frp, Sant-Etiève; oc, Sant Estève, ) is a city and the prefecture of the Loire department in eastern-central France, in the Massif Central, southwest of Lyon in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region.
Saint-Étienne is the t ...
Rhône-et-Loire
Rhône-et-Loire was the short-lived department of France whose prefecture (capital) was Lyon. Its name takes into the two rivers which is flowing in the department: Rhône and Loire. Created on 4 March 1790, like the other French departments, R ...
department was split into two, about 3½ years after it was created. This was a response to counter-revolutionary activities in Lyon which, by population, was the country's second largest city. By splitting
Rhône-et-Loire
Rhône-et-Loire was the short-lived department of France whose prefecture (capital) was Lyon. Its name takes into the two rivers which is flowing in the department: Rhône and Loire. Created on 4 March 1790, like the other French departments, R ...
the government sought to protect the French Revolution from the potential power and influence of counter revolutionary activity in the Lyon region.
The departmental capitals (prefectures) throughout its history are as follows:
* Feurs 1793–1795
* Montbrison 1795–1855
*
Saint-Étienne
Saint-Étienne (; frp, Sant-Etiève; oc, Sant Estève, ) is a city and the prefecture of the Loire department in eastern-central France, in the Massif Central, southwest of Lyon in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region.
Saint-Étienne is the t ...
since 1855
Geography
Loire is part of the current
administrative region
Administrative division, administrative unit,Article 3(1). country subdivision, administrative region, subnational entity, constituent state, as well as many similar terms, are generic names for geographical areas into which a particular, ind ...
of
Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes (ARA; ; frp, Ôvèrgne-Rôno-Ârpes; oc, Auvèrnhe Ròse Aups; it, Alvernia-Rodano-Alpi) is a region in southeast-central France created by the 2014 territorial reform of French regions; it resulted from the merger of Au ...
Isère
Isère ( , ; frp, Isera; oc, Isèra, ) is a landlocked department in the southeastern French region of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. Named after the river Isère, it had a population of 1,271,166 in 2019.Ardèche
Ardèche (; oc, Ardecha; frp, Ardecha) is a department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of Southeastern France. It is named after the river Ardèche and had a population of 328,278 as of 2019.Haute-Loire, Puy-de-Dôme,
Allier
Allier ( , , ; oc, Alèir) is a department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region that borders Cher to the west, Nièvre to the north, Saône-et-Loire and Loire to the east, Puy-de-Dôme to the south, and Creuse to the south-west. Named afte ...
, and
Saône-et-Loire
Saône-et-Loire (; Arpitan: ''Sona-et-Lêre'') is a department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in France. It is named after the rivers Saône and Loire, between which it lies, in the country's central-eastern part.
Saône-et-Loire is Bo ...
.
The river Loire traverses the department from south to north.
The Loire department is divided into three arrondissements:
*
Arrondissement of Montbrison
The arrondissement of Montbrison is located in the Loire department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of France. It has 135 communes. Its population is 181,551 (2016), and its area is .
Composition
The communes of the arrondissement of Montbris ...
*
Arrondissement of Roanne
The arrondissement of Roanne is located in the Loire department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of France. It is composed of 113 communes. Its population is 157,160 (2016), and its area is .
Composition
The communes of the arrondissement of ...
*
Arrondissement of Saint-Étienne
The arrondissement of Saint-Étienne is located in the Loire department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of France. It has 75 communes. Its population is 423,286 (2016), and its area is .
Composition
The communes of the arrondissement of Sain ...
The inhabitants of the department are called ''Ligériens''. The industrial city of
Saint-Étienne
Saint-Étienne (; frp, Sant-Etiève; oc, Sant Estève, ) is a city and the prefecture of the Loire department in eastern-central France, in the Massif Central, southwest of Lyon in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region.
Saint-Étienne is the t ...
Saint-Étienne
Saint-Étienne (; frp, Sant-Etiève; oc, Sant Estève, ) is a city and the prefecture of the Loire department in eastern-central France, in the Massif Central, southwest of Lyon in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region.
Saint-Étienne is the t ...
, the prefecture. As of 2019, there are 6 communes with more than 15,000 inhabitants:
Politics
The president of the Departmental Council is Georges Ziegler, elected in October 2017.
Current National Assembly Representatives
Tourism
File:Tour de la Droguerie1.jpg,
Saint-Étienne
Saint-Étienne (; frp, Sant-Etiève; oc, Sant Estève, ) is a city and the prefecture of the Loire department in eastern-central France, in the Massif Central, southwest of Lyon in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region.
Saint-Étienne is the t ...
File:Chateau La Roche St Priest.jpg,
Château de La Roche
The Château de la Roche is a ruined castle in the ''commune'' of Bellefosse in the Bas-Rhin ''département'' in Alsace, France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It als ...
File:Chateau de Grangent.jpg,
Château de Grangent
The Château de Grangent is a ruined castle in the ''Communes of France, commune'' of Saint-Just-Saint-Rambert in the Loire (department), Loire ''Departments of France, département'' of France.
At the time of its construction, originally around ...
File:Champdieu prieure.jpg,
Champdieu
Champdieu () is a commune in the Loire department in central France.
History
This region was developed into a monastery and surrounding village by Benedictine monks.
Population
See also
*Communes of the Loire department
The following is a ...
Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes (ARA; ; frp, Ôvèrgne-Rôno-Ârpes; oc, Auvèrnhe Ròse Aups; it, Alvernia-Rodano-Alpi) is a region in southeast-central France created by the 2014 territorial reform of French regions; it resulted from the merger of Au ...
*
Cantons of the Loire department The following is a list of the 21 cantons of the Loire department, in France, following the French canton reorganisation which came into effect in March 2015:
* Andrézieux-Bouthéon
* Boën-sur-Lignon
* Charlieu
* Le Coteau
* Feurs
* Firminy
* Mo ...
Arrondissements of the Loire department
The 3 arrondissements of the Loire department are:
# Arrondissement of Montbrison, (subprefecture: Montbrison) with 135 communes. The population of the arrondissement was 181,551 in 2016.
# Arrondissement of Roanne, (subprefecture: Roanne) wi ...
Loire General Council The Loire Departmental Council (French: ''Conseil départemental de la Loire'') is the deliberative assembly of the Loire department.
It consists of 42 members (''departmental councilors'') elected for a 6-years term and its headquarters are in S ...