Saint-Galmier (French pronunciation: [sɛ̃ ɡalmje] ) is a city in eastern France. It is a commune in Loire department, and belongs to the arrondissement of Montbrison.[3] Saint-Galmier covers an area of 19.5 square kilometers. As of January 2021, it had a population of 5,842.

Saint-Galmier
Commune
Coat of arms of Saint-Galmier
Location of Saint-Galmier
Map
Saint-Galmier is located in France
Saint-Galmier
Saint-Galmier
Saint-Galmier is located in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Saint-Galmier
Saint-Galmier
Coordinates: 45°35′27″N 4°19′05″E / 45.5908°N 4.3181°E / 45.5908; 4.3181
CountryFrance
RegionAuvergne-Rhône-Alpes
DepartmentLoire
ArrondissementMontbrison
CantonAndrézieux-Bouthéon
IntercommunalitySaint-Étienne Métropole
Government
 • Mayor (2020–2026) Philippe Denis[1]
Area
1
19.47 km2 (7.52 sq mi)
Population
 (2021)[2]
5,842
 • Density300/km2 (780/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+01:00 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code
42222 /42330
Elevation357–551 m (1,171–1,808 ft)
(avg. 480 m or 1,570 ft)
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Saint-Galmier, located on the river Coise, south-central Loire,[4] is a regional central city known for the mineral water Badoit produced there.

Place name edit

 
Old stone bridge across the Coise River

The name of Saint-Galmier is from the Catholic saint Galmier or Baldomerus, who was a monk at the Basilica of Saint Justus in Lyon.[5]

During the French Revolution, Saint-Galmier was renamed Fontfortville by the revolutionaries because of his religious color,[clarification needed] where "Fontfort" means "stable fountain".[5]

Geography edit

 
Map of the municipality of Saint-Galmier
 
The natural scenery around Saint-Galmier

Saint-Galmier is located in southeastern France, west-central Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes and east-central Loire, about 22 kilometers from the prefecture Saint-Étienne. Towns bordering Saint-Galmier include Bellegarde-en-Forez, Chambœuf, Chazelles-sur-Lyon, Cuzieu and Saint-Médard-en-Forez.[4]

Terrain edit

Saint-Galmier is located in the western foothills of Mount Lyonnais. The center of the town is located in a valley, with a relatively flat terrain, with an elevation of 357 to 551 meters.[4]

River edit

The river Coise, a right tributary of the Loire, flows from east to west through the town.[4]

Plant edit

Saint-Galmier belongs to the temperate deciduous forest area, which is mainly distributed on both sides of the Coise River and around the city area.[4]

Saint-Galmier was rated as a 4-star (highest) flower city in an evaluation of flower cities.[6]

Climate edit

Saint-Galmier belongs to the temperate marine climate in the Köppen climate classification.[7]

Administrative divisions edit

Saint-Galmier is a commune (INSEE code 42222) in the Loire department and Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region.[3] It is part of the arrondissement of Montbrison, the canton of Andrézieux-Bouthéon, the Saint-Étienne Métropole,[3] and of Loire's 6th constituency.[8]

According to the national statistics office INSEE, Saint-Galmier is part of the functional urban area (aire d'attraction des villes) of Saint-Étienne, which consists of 105 communes.[9][10][11] INSEE also divides the town of Saint-Galmier into two "blocks" (IRIS)[4][12] to facilitate the statistics of population distribution.

Population edit

In 2018, the commune of Saint-Galmier had a population of 5,737, ranking 1,903th in France. Of these, 2,782 are men and 2,940 are women, 9.0% are aged 75 and above. The number of foreigners is 1,061, with a population density of 295 per square kilometer. The local population is called Baldomériens (male) or Baldomérienne (female) in French.[6] In 2019, 49 people were born and 91 people died in Saint-Galmier.[6]

Historical population
YearPop.±% p.a.
1793 2,000—    
1800 2,394+2.60%
1806 2,479+0.58%
1821 2,790+0.79%
1831 2,659−0.48%
1836 2,805+1.07%
1841 2,758−0.34%
1846 3,010+1.76%
1851 2,952−0.39%
1856 2,932−0.14%
1861 2,954+0.15%
1866 3,035+0.54%
1872 2,902−0.74%
1876 2,936+0.29%
1881 3,022+0.58%
1886 3,410+2.45%
1891 3,257−0.91%
1896 3,296+0.24%
YearPop.±% p.a.
1901 3,104−1.19%
1906 3,059−0.29%
1911 3,030−0.19%
1921 2,549−1.71%
1926 2,529−0.16%
1931 2,543+0.11%
1936 2,524−0.15%
1946 2,507−0.07%
1954 2,573+0.33%
1962 2,608+0.17%
1968 2,910+1.84%
1975 3,109+0.95%
1982 3,680+2.44%
1990 4,272+1.88%
1999 5,293+2.41%
2009 5,596+0.56%
2014 5,669+0.26%
2020 5,837+0.49%
Source: EHESS[13] and INSEE (1968-2020)[14]

Politics edit

 
Saint-Galmier City Hall

The current mayor of Saint-Galmier is Philippe Denis, a centrist who received 60.11% of the support rate in the 2020 municipal elections.[15]

In the 2017 French presidential election, French 25th President Emmanuel Macron received 66.29% of the support in Saint-Galmier.[15]

Successive mayors of Saint-Galmier
Period Mayor Political party
1944 to 1946 Jean Rollin Unknown
1947 to 1959 Antoine Ravel Unknown
1959 to 1960 Camille Passot Unknown
1960 to 1971 Camille Passot Unknown
1971 to 1981 Maurice André National Centre of Independents and Peasants
1981 to 1989 Joannès Moulard Miscellaneous right
1989 to 2008 Jean Bouchardon Miscellaneous right
2008 to 2020 Jean-Yves Charbonnier Miscellaneous right
2020 to Philippe Denis Divers centre

Water edit

Saint Galmier is a spa town and the source of Badoit mineral water. The thermal spring was known in Gallo-Roman times, but its fame increased with the general growth in interest in thermal cures in Europe during the nineteenth century.

Before Auguste Badoit commercialised the water in the 1830s, both the water and the spring from which it emerged, were known as "Fontfort". For this reason, during the French Revolutionary period, the town was briefly known as "Fontfortville".

Personalities edit

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ "Répertoire national des élus: les maires" (in French). data.gouv.fr, Plateforme ouverte des données publiques françaises. 13 September 2022.
  2. ^ "Populations légales 2021". The National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies. 28 December 2023.
  3. ^ a b c "Commune de Saint-Galmier (42222) - commune actuelle".
  4. ^ a b c d e f Géoportail. "Plan Géoportail". geoportail.fr (in French). Retrieved 8 May 2021.
  5. ^ a b ville de Saint-Galmier. "Histoire". saint-galmier.fr (in French). Retrieved 8 May 2021.
  6. ^ a b c "Saint-Galmier (42330),Loire". linternaute.fr (in French). Retrieved 8 May 2021.
  7. ^ "Station météorologique de Saint-Etienne – Bouthéon". infoclimat.fr (in French). Retrieved 8 May 2021.
  8. ^ "Tableau des circonscriptions électorales des départements (élection des députés) (Article Annexe tableau n° 1)". Légifrance. 1 August 2009.
  9. ^ "Base des aires d'attraction des villes 2020" (in French). INSEE. Retrieved 11 November 2021.
  10. ^ "Aire d'attraction des villes 2020 de Saint-Étienne (023)" (in French). INSEE. Retrieved 11 November 2021.
  11. ^ "Aire d'attraction des villes. Définition" (in French). INSEE. Retrieved 8 May 2021.
  12. ^ sig.ville.gouv.fr. "Tableaux disponibles" (in French). sig.ville.gouv.fr. Retrieved 8 May 2021.
  13. ^ Des villages de Cassini aux communes d'aujourd'hui: Commune data sheet Saint-Galmier, EHESS (in French).
  14. ^ Population en historique depuis 1968, INSEE
  15. ^ a b Le Monde (ed.). "Résultats des élections municipales". lemonde.fr (in French). Retrieved 8 May 2021.

External links edit