Saint-Étienne (French pronunciation: [sɛ̃t‿etjɛn] ⓘ; Franco-Provençal: Sant-Etiève) 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.

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.

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

In the late 15th century, it was a fortified village defended by walls built around the original nucleus.

It was this growing importance of Saint-Étienne that led to its being made seat of the prefecture and the departmental administration on 25 July 1855, when it became the chief town in the département and seat of the prefect, replacing Montbrison, which was reduced to the status of chief town of an arrondissement.

The population data in the table and graph below refer to the commune of Saint-Étienne proper, in its geography at the given years.

Saint-Étienne is very close from a warm-summer humid continental climate (Köppen: Dfb); it is generally one of the snowiest cities in France, with an average of 85 cm (2.79 ft) of snow accumulation per year.

The city's football club AS Saint-Étienne has won the Ligue 1 title a joint-record ten times, achieving most of their success in the 1970s.

There are four other railway stations in Saint-Étienne (Bellevue, Carnot, La Terrasse and Le Clapier) with local services.