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In the 16th century,
Saint-Étienne possessed an arms
factory, and it was this industry which
accounted for the town's importance, though
it engaged also in the manufacture of ribbons
and passementerie from the 17th century.
(During the French revolution Saint-Étienne
was renamed Armeville ("Arms town")
because of this activity. Later still it
became a coal-mining centre and more recently
has been known for the manufacture of bicycles.
Saint-Étienne was the seat of a
post office in 1825 and in 1832, and a
relay station in 1832. It did not really
develop to any degree until the 19th century.
Art has become a jewel
in the town’s activity. The Museum
of Modern Art houses the biggest collection
of contemporary art after the Beaubourg
centre in Paris. The former mining town,
to which the Museum of Mining pays homage,
has now become a capital of design. It
has staged the International Biennale of
design since 1998 and a business quarter
devoted to the activity will be opened
in 2006. It provides a fitting pathway
to the city’s future. Its rugby future
will be guaranteed by the blue-shirted
waves of Scottish fans for two 2007 RWC
matches. The city streets will resound
to the braying of the bagpipes and the
melody of Flower of Scotland.
Stade Geoffroy-Guichard
is a multi-use stadium in Saint-Étienne,
France. It is used primarily for football
matches, and tournaments such as the 1984
European Football Championship, the Football
World Cup 1998 and the Confederations Cup
2003. It is also used for rugby union,
and will be a venue at the 2007 Rugby World
Cup. It is nicknamed "le Chaudron" (the
Cauldron), or "l'enfer vert" (the
Green Hell), an allusion to the colours
worn by the local football team, the AS
Saint-Étienne, given during the
team's heyday of the 1960s and 1970s when
spectators were very numerous (the peak
was reached in 1985 with more than 47,000
spectators).The stadium opened on September
13 1931, and AS Saint-Étienne's
first match there took place on September
17 against FAC Nice. The stadium was named
after Geoffroy Guichard, founder of the
Casino retail group, who purchased the
site on which it was built.
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