Loire (; ; ; or Leir) is a landlocked department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of France occupying the river Loire's upper reaches. Its prefecture is Saint-Étienne. It had a population of 774,133 in 2023.
History
Loire was created in 1793 when the Rhône-et-Loire département was split into two, about three years after it was created in 1790. 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 the government sought to protect the French Revolution from the potential power and influence of counter revolutionary activity in the Lyon region.
The Loire département roughly corresponds to the former province of Forez.
The departmental capitals (prefectures) throughout its history are as follows: Feurs 1793–1795 Montbrison 1795–1855 Saint-Étienne since 1855
Geography
Loire is part of the current administrative region of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes and is surrounded by the départements of Rhône, Isère, Ardèche, Haute-Loire, Puy-de-Dôme, Allier, and Saône-et-Loire.
The river Loire traverses the department from south to north.
The Loire département is divided into three arrondissements: Arrondissement of Montbrison Arrondissement of Roanne Arrondissement of Saint-Étienne
Parts of the department belong to Parc naturel régional Livradois-Forez.
Demographics The inhabitants of the département are called Ligériens in French. The industrial city of Saint-Étienne with its agglomeration contains about half of the inhabitants of the département.Comparateur de territoires, Unité urbaine 2020 de Saint-Étienne (00753), Département de la Loire (42), INSEE
Population development since 1801:
Principal towns
The most populous commune is Saint-Étienne, the prefecture. As of 2023, there are 7 communes with more than 15,000 inhabitants:Populations de référence 2023: 42 Loire, INSEE
Commune Population (2023) Saint-Étienne 173,136 Saint-Chamond 35,646 Roanne 35,409 Firminy 17,060 Montbrison 16,123 Saint-Just-Saint-Rambert 15,764 Rive-de-Gier 15,242
Politics
The president of the Departmental Council is Georges Ziegler, elected in October 2017.
Current National Assembly Representatives
ConstituencyMemberParty Loire's 1st constituency Pierrick Courbon PS Loire's 2nd constituency Andrée Taurinya LFI Loire's 3rd constituency Emmanuel Mandon MoDem Loire's 4th constituency Sylvie Bonnet LR Loire's 5th constituency Antoine Vermorel-Marques LR Loire's 6th constituency Jean-Pierre Taite LR
Tourism
See also Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Cantons of the Loire department Communes of the Loire department Arrondissements of the Loire department Loire coal mining basin Loire General Council
References
External links
Prefecture website Loire Departmental Council website