Loire (department)

This article is about the department. For the river after which the department is named, see Loire.
Not to be confused with Loiret, a French department in Centre-Val de Loire.

Loire
Lêre (Arpitan)
Léger (Occitan)
Department of France
red roofed buildings, surrounded by trees, on a cloudy day
Montbrison in 2007
yellow fish on a red field
Flag
yellow fish on a red field
Coat of arms
Location of Loire in France
Location of Loire in France
Coordinates: 45°05′N 04°05′E / 45.083°N 4.083°E / 45.083; 4.083
CountryFrance
RegionAuvergne-Rhône-Alpes
PrefectureSaint-Étienne
SubprefecturesMontbrison
Roanne
Government
 • President of the Departmental CouncilGeorges Ziegler[1] (LR)
Area
1
 • Total
4,781 km2 (1,846 sq mi)
Population
 (2021)[2]
 • Total
769,029
 • Rank30th
 • Density160/km2 (420/sq mi)
DemonymLigerian (Ligérien)
Time zoneUTC+1 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+2 (CEST)
Department number42
Arrondissements3
Cantons21
Communes323
^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: Léger or Leir) is a landlocked département 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 765,634 in 2019.[3]

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:[4]

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:

Parts of the department belong to Parc naturel régional Livradois-Forez.

Demographics

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:

Historical population
YearPop.±% p.a.
1801290,903—    
1806317,053+1.74%
1821343,454+0.53%
1831391,216+1.31%
1841434,085+1.05%
1851472,588+0.85%
1861517,603+0.91%
1872550,611+0.56%
1881599,836+0.96%
1891616,227+0.27%
1901647,633+0.50%
1911640,549−0.11%
1921637,130−0.05%
YearPop.±% p.a.
1931664,822+0.43%
1936650,226−0.44%
1946631,591−0.29%
1954654,482+0.45%
1962696,348+0.78%
1968722,443+0.62%
1975742,396+0.39%
1982739,521−0.06%
1990746,288+0.11%
1999728,524−0.27%
2006741,269+0.25%
2011749,053+0.21%
2016761,997+0.34%
source:[4][6]

Principal towns

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

Politics

The president of the Departmental Council is Georges Ziegler, elected in October 2017.

Current National Assembly Representatives

Constituency Member[7] Party
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

References

  1. ^ "Répertoire national des élus: les conseillers départementaux". data.gouv.fr, Plateforme ouverte des données publiques françaises (in French). 4 May 2022.
  2. ^ "Téléchargement du fichier d'ensemble des populations légales en 2021" (in French). The National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies. 28 December 2023.
  3. ^ a b Populations légales 2019: 42 Loire, INSEE
  4. ^ a b "Historique de la Loire". Le SPLAF.
  5. ^ Comparateur de territoires, Unité urbaine 2020 de Saint-Étienne (00753), Département de la Loire (42), INSEE
  6. ^ "Évolution et structure de la population en 2016". INSEE.
  7. ^ Nationale, Assemblée. "Assemblée nationale ~ Les députés, le vote de la loi, le Parlement français". Assemblée nationale.