Loire
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Montbrison in 2007
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Location of Loire in France
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| Coordinates: 45°05′N 04°05′E / 45.083°N 4.083°E / 45.083; 4.083 | |
| Country | France |
| Region | Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes |
| Prefecture | Saint-Étienne |
| Subprefectures | Montbrison Roanne |
| Government | |
| • President of the Departmental Council | Georges Ziegler[1] (LR) |
| Area | |
| • Total | 4,781 km2 (1,846 sq mi) |
| Population
(2021)[2]
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| • Total | 769,029 |
| • Rank | 30th |
| • Density | 160/km2 (420/sq mi) |
| Demonym | Ligerians |
| Time zone | UTC+1 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+2 (CEST) |
| Department number | 42 |
| Arrondissements | 3 |
| Cantons | 21 |
| Communes | 323 |
| ^1 French Land Register data, which exclude estuaries and lakes, ponds and glaciers larger than 1 km2 | |
Loire (/lwɑːr/; French pronunciation: [lwaʁ]; Arpitan: Lêre; Occitan: LégerorLeir) is a landlocked département in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes regionofFrance occupying the river Loire's upper reaches. Its prefectureisSaint-Étienne. It had a population of 765,634 in 2019.[3]
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 activitiesinLyon 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:[4]
Loire is part of the current administrative regionofAuvergne-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:
Parts of the department belong to Parc naturel régional Livradois-Forez.
The inhabitants of the département are called Ligériens. The industrial city of Saint-Étienne with its agglomeration contains about half of the inhabitants of the département.[5]
Population development since 1801:
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The most populous commune is Saint-Étienne, the prefecture. As of 2019, there are 6 communes with more than 15,000 inhabitants:[3]
| Commune | Population (2019) |
|---|---|
| Saint-Étienne | 173,821 |
| Saint-Chamond | 34,841 |
| Roanne | 33,809 |
| Firminy | 16,901 |
| Montbrison | 15,915 |
| Saint-Just-Saint-Rambert | 15,229 |
The president of the Departmental Council is Georges Ziegler, elected in October 2017.
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