| Loire | |
| Native Name: | |
| Native Name Lang: | fr |
| Type: | Department of France |
| Image Alt: | red roofed buildings, surrounded by trees, on a cloudy day |
| Flag Alt: | yellow fish on a red field |
| Shield Alt: | yellow fish on a red field |
| Coordinates: | 45.0833°N 9°W |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: | France |
| Subdivision Type1: | Region |
| Subdivision Name1: | Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes |
| Population Demonym: | Ligerians |
| Seat Type: | Prefecture |
| Seat: | Saint-Étienne |
| Parts Type: | Subprefectures |
| Parts Style: | para |
| P1: | Montbrison Roanne |
| Leader Party: | LR |
| Leader Title: | President of the Departmental Council |
| Leader Name: | Georges Ziegler[1] |
| Unit Pref: | Metric |
| Area Total Km2: | 4781 |
| Population Rank: | 30th |
| Population Density Km2: | auto |
| Blank Name Sec1: | Department number |
| Blank Info Sec1: | 42 |
| Blank Name Sec2: | Arrondissements |
| Blank Info Sec2: | 3 |
| Blank1 Name Sec2: | Cantons |
| Blank1 Info Sec2: | 21 |
| Blank2 Name Sec2: | Communes |
| Blank2 Info Sec2: | 323 |
| Timezone1: | CET |
| Utc Offset1: | +1 |
| Timezone1 Dst: | CEST |
| Utc Offset1 Dst: | +2 |
| Footnotes: | French Land Register data, which exclude estuaries and lakes, ponds and glaciers larger than 1 km2 |
Loire (; pronounced as /fr/; Lêre; Occitan (post 1500);: 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.[2]
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:
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.
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.[3]
Population development since 1801:
The most populous commune is Saint-Étienne, the prefecture. As of 2019, there are 6 communes with more than 15,000 inhabitants:[2]
| 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.