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Home > Travel France > France Destinations > Saint Etienne
Saint-Etienne
France, officially the French Republic, is a country whose metropolitan territory is located in Western Europe and comprises various overseas islands and territories which are located in other regions. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean. At 674,843 square kilometres, France is the world's 40th-largest country after Myanmar. France is a member of The European Union and Paris is the capital of this nation. The sole official language of France is French. Since prehistoric times, France has been a crossroads of trade, migrations, and invasions.
Saint-Etienne is a city in the central eastern part of France, 60 kilometers southwest of Lyon. Located in the Rhone-Alpes region, Saint-Etienne is the prefecture of the Loire department. It is situated in the Massif Central. In the 16th century, Saint-Etienne possessed an arms factory, and it was this industry, which accounted for the town's importance, though it also engaged in the manufacturing of ribbons and passementerie from the 17th century. It is at an altitude of 422 to 1,117 meters. Land area of Saint-Etienne is 79.97 per square kilometers and population as of 1999 was 180,210. It had a density of 2,253 per square kilometers.
Population of the city at the 1999 census was 180,210 inhabitants. Population of the whole metropolitan area at the 1999 census was 321,703 inhabitants. Inhabitants of Saint-Etienne are called stephanois in French. They are named so because Etienne is French equivalent of the Greek Stephanos, the patron of happy people and stephanos means happy in the ancient Greek language. The Association Sportive de Saint-Etienne is a football club based in this area.
St. Etienne used to be the capital of the French bicycle industry. A major bicycle wheel manufacturer Mavic is based in the city, and at some point frame manufacturers such as Motobecane and Vitus were also based here. Saint-Etienne is notable also for its tramway. During the 20th century, all other French cities got rid of their tramways, only Saint-Etienne kept its system. Saint-Etienne, due its various places of interest is one of the most visited places. It is also said the place of best geographical environment and can trace its origins back to prehistoric times. Due to its many historic places it has been one of the favorite destinations of visitors.
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