Sainte-Foy-l'Argentière

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Commune of Sainte-Foy-l'Argentière
Location
Longitude	04° 28' 16" E
Latitude	45° 42' 33" N
Administration
Country	France
Region	Rhône-Alpes
Department	Rhône
Arrondissement	Lyon
Canton	Saint-Laurent-de-Chamousset
Statistics
Altitude	417 m–480 m (avg. 423 m)
Land area¹	1.54 km²
Population² (1999)	1,167
- Density (1999)	757/km²
Miscellaneous
INSEE/Postal code	69201/ 69610
¹ French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 mi² or 247 acres) and river estuaries.
² Population sans doubles comptes: single count of residents of multiple communes (e.g. students and military personnel).

Sainte-Foy-l'Argentière is a little village and commune of the Rhône département, located about 42 km from Lyon (often spelt Lyons in English).

The name means "Holy Faith, the silver-producer"; Sainte-Foy is equivalent to the common Spanish place-name Santa Fé, and the reference is to the silver mines around which the village grew.

The village is clustered around a kilometer-long main street ("la grande rue"), rising from the busy crossroads at the bottom to the high school (collège). There is a central castle, linked to the church, in the main square, a riverside football club and stadium sometimes visited by Olympique Lyonnais in the pre-season, and a sports and entertainment centre (salle polyvalente). A popular antiques fair, which draws in crowds of thousands, is held every September, and there are other annual cultural activities.

The village's traditional and renowned main industry is roof tile manufacturing ("tuilerie").

The writer Bernard Clavel once lived near the village; it is also mentioned in a San-Antonio novel, and its tiny train station has been featured in various films.