Saône-et-Loire

Saône-et-Loire
Saône-et-Loire
Department of France
	Prefecture building in Mâcon
	Flag Coat of arms
	Location of Saône-et-Loire in France
	Coordinates: 46°40′N 04°42′E / 46.667°N 4.700°E
Country	France
Region	Bourgogne-Franche-Comté
Prefecture	Mâcon
Subprefectures	Autun; Chalon-sur-Saône; Charolles; Louhans
Government
• President of the Departmental Council	André Accary (LR)
Area 1
• Total	8,575 km2 (3,311 sq mi)
Population (2021)
• Total	549,288
• Rank	48th
• Density	64/km2 (170/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+1 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+2 (CEST)
Department number	71
Arrondissements	5
Cantons	29
Communes	565
	^1 French Land Register data, which exclude estuaries and lakes, ponds and glaciers larger than 1 km2

Saône-et-Loire (French pronunciation: [sonelwaʁ]; Arpitan: Sona-et-Lêre) is a department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in France. It is named after the rivers Saône and Loire, between which it lies, in the country's central-eastern part.

Saône-et-Loire is Bourgogne-Franche-Comté's most populous department with a population of 551,493 as of 2019.^[3] It is also its southernmost department, as it is situated on the regional border with Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. Saône-et-Loire's prefecture is Mâcon, with subprefectures in Autun, Chalon-sur-Saône, Charolles and Louhans. Its INSEE and postcode number is 71.

History

When it was formed during the French Revolution, as of March 4, 1790 in fulfillment of the law of December 22, 1789, the new department combined parts of the provinces of southern Burgundy and Bresse, uniting lands that had no previous common history nor political unity and which have no true geographical unity. Thus its history is that of Burgundy, and is especially to be found in the local histories of Autun, Mâcon, Chalon-sur-Saône, Charolles and Louhans.

Geography

Saône-et-Loire is the seventh largest department of France. It is part of the region Bourgogne-Franche-Comté. In the west, the department is composed of the hills of the Autunois, the region around Autun, in the southwest the Charollais, and the Mâconnais in the south.

In the centre, the department is traversed from north to south by the Saône in its wide plain; the Saône is a tributary of the River Rhône that joins it at Lyon and thus is connected to the Mediterranean Sea. The source of the Loire, is south of the department, in the department of Ardèche. It then makes its way in the opposite direction, forming the southwest border of the department, and eventually draining into the Atlantic Ocean. The Canal du Centre links the Saône to the Loire between Chalon-sur-Saône and Digoin, thereby linking the Mediterranean Sea to the Atlantic Ocean. In the east, the department occupies the northern part of the plain of Bresse. In the west, its industrial heart is in Le Creusot and Montceau-les-Mines, formerly noted for their coal mines and metallurgy.

Principal towns

The most populous commune is Chalon-sur-Saône; the prefecture Mâcon is the second-most populous. As of 2019, there are 5 communes with more than 10,000 inhabitants:^[3]

Commune	Population (2019)
Chalon-sur-Saône	45,056
Mâcon	33,908
Le Creusot	21,269
Montceau-les-Mines	17,678
Autun	12,987

Subdivisions

The department consists of five arrondissements:

There are 29 cantons in the department and 565 communes.

Demographics

Historical population

Year	Pop.	±% p.a.
1801	452,673	—
1806	471,236	+0.81%
1821	498,057	+0.37%
1831	524,180	+0.51%
1841	551,543	+0.51%
1851	574,720	+0.41%
1861	582,137	+0.13%
1872	598,344	+0.25%
1881	625,589	+0.50%
1891	619,523	−0.10%
1901	620,360	+0.01%
1911	604,446	−0.26%
1921	554,816	−0.85%

Year	Pop.	±% p.a.
1931	538,741	−0.29%
1936	525,676	−0.49%
1946	506,749	−0.37%
1954	511,182	+0.11%
1962	535,772	+0.59%
1968	550,364	+0.45%
1975	569,810	+0.50%
1982	571,852	+0.05%
1990	559,413	−0.27%
1999	544,893	−0.29%
2006	549,359	+0.12%
2011	555,999	+0.24%
2016	555,023	−0.04%

Sources:^[4]^[5]

Politics

The president of the Departmental Council is André Accary, elected in 2015.

Current National Assembly Representatives

	Member^[6]	Party
Saône-et-Loire's 1st constituency	Benjamin Dirx	La République En Marche!
Saône-et-Loire's 2nd constituency	Josiane Corneloup	The Republicans
Saône-et-Loire's 3rd constituency	Rémy Rebeyrotte	La République En Marche!
Saône-et-Loire's 4th constituency	Cécile Untermaier	Socialist Party
Saône-et-Loire's 5th constituency	Raphaël Gauvain	La République En Marche!

Tourism

Touristic sites :

Roche de Solutré,
Abbaye de Cluny,
Taizé and Taizé Community,
Paray-le-Monial,
La Clayette,
Dompierre-les-Ormes (Galerie européenne de la forêt et du bois, Arboretum de Pézanin).

References

^ "Répertoire national des élus: les conseillers départementaux". data.gouv.fr, Plateforme ouverte des données publiques françaises (in French). 4 May 2022.
^ "Téléchargement du fichier d'ensemble des populations légales en 2021" (in French). The National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies. 28 December 2023.
^ ^a ^b Populations légales 2019: 71 Saône-et-Loire, INSEE
^ "Historique de Saône-et-Loire". Le SPLAF.
^ "Évolution et structure de la population en 2016". INSEE.
^ Nationale, Assemblée. "Assemblée nationale ~ Les députés, le vote de la loi, le Parlement français". Assemblée nationale.

External links

(in French) Departmental Council website
(in French) Prefecture website

[1] "Répertoire national des élus: les conseillers départementaux". data.gouv.fr, Plateforme ouverte des données publiques françaises (in French). 4 May 2022.

[popleg2021-2] "Téléchargement du fichier d'ensemble des populations légales en 2021" (in French). The National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies. 28 December 2023.

[pop2019-3] Populations légales 2019: 71 Saône-et-Loire, INSEE

[4] "Historique de Saône-et-Loire". Le SPLAF.

[5] "Évolution et structure de la population en 2016". INSEE.

[6] Nationale, Assemblée. "Assemblée nationale ~ Les députés, le vote de la loi, le Parlement français". Assemblée nationale.

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