Editing Loire (department)

{{short description|Department in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, France}}
{{About|the department|the river after which the department is named|Loire}}
{{distinguish|text=[[Loiret]], a French department in Centre-Val de Loire}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2023}}
{{Infobox settlement
<!-- See Template:Infobox settlement for additional fields and descriptions -->
| name                    = Loire
| native_name             = {{native name|frp|Lêre}}<br>{{native name|oc|Léger}}
| native_name_lang        = fr<!-- ISO 639-2 code e.g. "fr" for French. If more than one, use {{lang}} instead -->
| type                    = [[Departments of France|Department of France]]
| image_skyline           = Montbrison in 2007 - 01.JPG
| image_alt               = red roofed buildings, surrounded by trees, on a cloudy day
| image_caption           = Montbrison in 2007
| image_flag              = Drapeau fr département Loire.svg
| flag_alt                = yellow fish on a red field
| image_shield            = Blason département fr Loire.svg
| shield_alt              = yellow fish on a red field
| nickname                =
| motto                   =
| image_map               = Loire-Position.svg
| map_alt                 =
| map_caption             = Location of Loire in France
| pushpin_map             =
| pushpin_label_position  =
| pushpin_map_alt         =
| pushpin_map_caption     =
| coordinates             = {{coord|45|05|N|04|05|E|region:FR_type:adm2nd|display=inline,title}}
| coor_pinpoint           =
| coordinates_footnotes   =
| subdivision_type        = [[List of sovereign states|Country]]
| subdivision_name        = [[France]]
| subdivision_type1       = [[Regions of France|Region]]
| subdivision_name1       = [[Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes]]
| population_demonym                 = Ligerian (Ligérien)
| established_title       =
| established_date        =
| founder                 =
| seat_type               = [[Prefectures in France|Prefecture]]
| seat                    = [[Saint-Étienne]]
| parts_type              = [[Subprefectures in France|Subprefectures]]
| parts_style             = para
| p1                      = [[Montbrison, Loire|Montbrison]]<br>[[Roanne]]
| government_footnotes    =
| leader_party            = [[The Republicans (France)|LR]]
| leader_title            = [[List of presidents of departmental councils (France)|President of the Departmental Council]]
| leader_name             = Georges Ziegler<ref>{{cite web |title=Répertoire national des élus: les conseillers départementaux |url=https://www.data.gouv.fr/fr/datasets/r/601ef073-d986-4582-8e1a-ed14dc857fba |website=data.gouv.fr, Plateforme ouverte des données publiques françaises |date=4 May 2022 |language=fr}}</ref>
| unit_pref               = Metric<!-- or US or UK -->
| area_magnitude          =
| area_footnotes          = {{ref|area|1}}
| area_total_km2          = 4781
| area_note               =
| elevation_footnotes     =
| elevation_m             =
| elevation_min_m         =
| elevation_max_m         =
| population_total        = {{France metadata Wikidata|population_total}}
| population_as_of        = {{France metadata Wikidata|population_as_of}}
| population_footnotes    = {{France metadata Wikidata|population_footnotes2}}
| population_rank         = [[List of French departments by population|30th]]
| population_density_km2  = auto
| population_note         =
| blank_name_sec1         = [[Departments of France|Department number]]
| blank_info_sec1         = 42
| blank_name_sec2         = [[Arrondissements of France|Arrondissements]]
| blank_info_sec2         = [[arrondissements of the Loire department|3]]
| blank1_name_sec2        = [[Cantons in France|Cantons]]
| blank1_info_sec2        = [[Cantons of the Loire department|21]]
| blank2_name_sec2        = [[Communes in France|Communes]]
| blank2_info_sec2        = [[Communes of the Loire department|323]]
| timezone1               = [[Central European Time|CET]]
| utc_offset1             = +1
| timezone1_DST           = [[Central European Summer Time|CEST]]
| utc_offset1_DST         = +2
| postal_code_type        =
| postal_code             =
| area_code_type          =
| area_code               =
| iso_code                =
| website                 =
| footnotes               = {{note|area|1}} French Land Register data, which exclude estuaries and lakes, ponds and glaciers larger than 1 km<sup>2</sup>
}}
'''Loire''' ({{IPAc-en|l|w|ɑː|r}}; {{IPA|fr|lwaʁ}}; {{langx|frp|Lêre}}; {{langx|oc|Léger}} or ''Leir'') is a landlocked [[Departments of France|département]] in the [[Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes]] [[Regions of France|region]] of [[France]] occupying the river [[Loire]]'s upper reaches. Its [[Prefectures in France|prefecture]] is [[Saint-Étienne]]. It had a population of 765,634 in 2019.<ref name=pop2019>[https://www.insee.fr/fr/statistiques/fichier/6011060/dep42.pdf Populations légales 2019: 42 Loire], INSEE</ref>

== 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 [[Revolt of Lyon against the National Convention|counter-revolutionary activities]] in [[Lyon]] which, by population, was the country's second largest city. By splitting Rhône-et-Loire the [[National Convention|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 [[Prefectures in France|departmental capitals]] (prefectures) throughout its history are as follows:<ref name=splaf/>
* [[Feurs]] 1793–1795
* [[Montbrison, Loire|Montbrison]] 1795–1855
* [[Saint-Étienne]] since 1855

== Geography ==

Loire is part of the current [[regions of France|administrative region]] of [[Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes]] and is surrounded by the départements of [[Rhône (department)|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 [[arrondissement]]s:
* [[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''. The industrial city of [[Saint-Étienne]] with its [[urban unit|agglomeration]] contains about half of the inhabitants of the département.<ref>[https://www.insee.fr/fr/statistiques/1405599?geo=UU2020-00753+DEP-42 Comparateur de territoires, Unité urbaine 2020 de Saint-Étienne (00753), Département de la Loire (42)], INSEE</ref>

Population development since 1801:{{historical populations|cols=2|align=none|percentages=pagr|footnote=source:<ref name=splaf>{{Cite web |url=http://splaf.free.fr/42his.html |title=Historique de la Loire |website=Le SPLAF}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.insee.fr/fr/statistiques/4176909?geo=DEP-42 |title=Évolution et structure de la population en 2016 |publisher=INSEE}}</ref>|graph-pos=bottom
|13=1801|14=290,903|15=1806|16=317,053|17=1821|18=343,454|19=1831|20=391,216|21=1841|22=434,085|23=1851|24=472,588|25=1861|26=517,603|27=1872|28=550,611|29=1881|30=599,836|31=1891|32=616,227|33=1901|34=647,633|35=1911|36=640,549|37=1921|38=637,130|39=1931|40=664,822|41=1936|42=650,226|43=1946|44=631,591|45=1954|46=654,482|47=1962|48=696,348|49=1968|50=722,443|51=1975|52=742,396|53=1982|54=739,521|55=1990|56=746,288|57=1999|58=728,524|59=2006|60=741,269|61=2011|62=749,053|63=2016|64=761,997}}

===Principal towns===

The most populous commune is [[Saint-Étienne]], the prefecture. As of 2019, there are 6 communes with more than 15,000 inhabitants:<ref name=pop2019/>

{| class=wikitable
! Commune
! Population (2019)
|-
| [[Saint-Étienne]]
| style="text-align: center;" | 173,821
|-
| [[Saint-Chamond, Loire|Saint-Chamond]]
| style="text-align: center;" | 34,841
|-
| [[Roanne]]
| style="text-align: center;" | 33,809
|-
| [[Firminy]]
| style="text-align: center;" | 16,901
|-
| [[Montbrison, Loire|Montbrison]]
| style="text-align: center;" | 15,915
|-
| [[Saint-Just-Saint-Rambert]]
| style="text-align: center;" | 15,229
|}

==Politics==

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

===Current National Assembly Representatives===

{| class="wikitable"
|-
!colspan="2"|Constituency!!Member<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.assemblee-nationale.fr/ |title=Assemblée nationale ~ Les députés, le vote de la loi, le Parlement français |first=Assemblée |last=Nationale |website=Assemblée nationale}}</ref>!!Party
|-
|style="background-color: {{party color|Socialist Party (France)}}" |
| [[Loire's 1st constituency]]
| [[Pierrick Courbon]]
| [[Socialist Party (France)|PS]]
|-
|style="background-color: {{party color|La France Insoumise}}" |
| [[Loire's 2nd constituency]]
| [[Andrée Taurinya]]
| [[La France Insoumise|LFI]]
|-
|style="background-color: {{party color|Democratic Movement (France)}}" |
| [[Loire's 3rd constituency]]
| Emmanuel Mandon
| [[Democratic Movement (France)|MoDem]]
|-
|style="background-color: {{party color|The Republicans (France)}}" |
| [[Loire's 4th constituency]]
| Sylvie Bonnet
| [[The Republicans (France)|LR]]
|-
|style="background-color: {{party color|The Republicans (France)}}" |
| [[Loire's 5th constituency]]
| [[Antoine Vermorel-Marques]]
| [[The Republicans (France)|LR]]
|-
|style="background-color: {{party color|The Republicans (France)}}" |
| [[Loire's 6th constituency]]
| [[Jean-Pierre Taite]]
| [[The Republicans (France)|LR]]
|}

==Tourism==
<gallery>
File:Tour de la Droguerie1.jpg|[[Saint-Étienne]]
File:Chateau La Roche St Priest.jpg|[[Château de La Roche (Saint-Priest-la-Roche)|Château de La Roche]]
File:Chateau de Grangent.jpg|[[Château de Grangent]]
File:Champdieu prieure.jpg|[[Champdieu]]
File:Ste Croix en Jarez-1a Façade Sud.jpg|[[Sainte-Croix-en-Jarez]], one of [[Les Plus Beaux Villages de France|The Most Beautiful Villages of France]]
</gallery>

== 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 ==
{{reflist}}

== External links ==
{{commons category}}
* {{in lang|fr}} [http://www.loire.gouv.fr/ Prefecture website]
* {{in lang|fr}} [https://www.loire.fr/ Loire Departmental Council website]

{{Departments of France}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Loire (department)| ]]
[[Category:Massif Central]]
[[Category:1793 establishments in France]]
[[Category:Departments of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes]]
[[Category:States and territories established in 1793]]