SAINT-TIENNE

city, capital of Loire dpartement, Rhne-Alpes rgion, on the northeast border of the Massif Central, east-central France. From its beginning as a small community in a coal basin, huddled around the church from which it takes its name, it has developed as the nucleus of an industrial community including Saint-Chamond, Le Chambon-Feugerolles, and Firminy, strung out along the Ordaine and Gier valleys to the southwest and northwest. The blacksmiths of the village of Saint-tienne appear to have used surface coal as early as the 12th century. The locality began to expand industrially in the 15th century, and with the advent of King Francis I of France the state firearms manufactory and an important silk industry were established there. In 1828 engines on the first French railway line began transporting coal from Saint-tienne to Andrzieux on the Loire, 10 miles (16 km) away. The line was soon extended to Lyon. The first steel mill in France, imported from England, was installed at Le Chambon shortly after the Napoleonic Wars. Saint-tienne now specializes in steel for arms and armour plating. It continues to manufacture bicycles, introduced from England in 1886, and is the chief French centre for the production of ribbons, scarves, and ties. Other industries include woodwork, glasswork, and dyeing. Saint-tienne is also the home of the largest French commercial company, the chain of Casino stores. The city is closely connected with the Lyon agglomeration, and the two form a two-headed metropolitan area for the Rhne-Alpes economic region. The University of Saint-tienne was founded in 1969. Pop. (1990) 201,569.