Loire (department)

Loire (Lêre; Léger) is an administrative department in the east-central part of France occupying the River Loire's upper reaches.

History
Loire was created in 1793 when after just 3½ years the young Rhône-et-Loire department was split into two. 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 departmental capitals have been / are as follows:
 * Feurs 1793-1795
 * Montbrison 1795-1855
 * Saint-Étienne since 1855

Geography
Loire is part of the current administrative region of Rhône-Alpes and is surrounded by the departments 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 department is split 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 department are called Ligériens.

The industrial city of Saint-Étienne with its suburbs contains some 290,000 of the area's 728,542 inhabitants.