Saint-Étienne

Saint-Étienne
Sant-Etiève (Franco-Provençal)
From top to bottom, left to right: view from the Cité du Design, in the centre the Cité des Affaires and the One Station buildings, below the Musée de la Mine, the Place Jean Jaurès garden and the Place du Peuple.
Location of Saint-Étienne
Saint-Étienne
Saint-Étienne
Coordinates: 45°26′05″N 4°23′25″E / 45.4347°N 4.3903°E / 45.4347; 4.3903
CountryFrance
RegionAuvergne-Rhône-Alpes
DepartmentLoire
ArrondissementSaint-Étienne
CantonSaint-Étienne-1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6
IntercommunalitySaint-Étienne Métropole
Government
  Mayor (20202026) Gaël Perdriau (LR)
Area
1
79.97 km2 (30.88 sq mi)
Population
 (2022)
172,569
  Rank14th in France
  Density2,200/km2 (5,600/sq mi)
DemonymStéphanois
Time zoneUTC+01:00 (CET)
  Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code
42218 /42000, 42100, 42230
Elevation422–1,117 m (1,385–3,665 ft)
(avg. 516 m or 1,693 ft)
Websitewww.saint-etienne.fr
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Saint-Étienne (French pronunciation: [sɛ̃t‿etjɛn] ; Franco-Provençal: Sant-Etiève), also written St. Etienne, is a city and the prefecture of the Loire département, in eastern-central France, in the Massif Central, 60 km (37 mi) southwest of Lyon, in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region.

Saint-Étienne is the thirteenth most populated commune in France and the second most populated commune in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. Its metropolis (métropole), Saint-Étienne Métropole, is the second most populous regional metropolis after Lyon. The commune is also at the heart of a vast metropolitan area with 406,868 inhabitants (2020), the eighteenth largest in France by population, comprising 105 communes. Its inhabitants are known as Stéphanois (masculine) and Stéphanoises (feminine).

Long known as the French city of the "weapon, cycle and ribbon" and a major coal mining centre, Saint-Étienne is currently engaged in a vast urban renewal program aimed at leading the transition from the industrial city inherited from the 19th century to the "design capital" of the 21st century. This approach was recognised with the entry of Saint-Étienne into the UNESCO Creative Cities network in 2010. The city is currently undergoing renewal, with the installation of the Châteaucreux business district, the ‘Steel’ retail complex and the manufacturing creative district.

The city is known for its football club AS Saint-Étienne, which has won the Ligue 1 title ten times.