Forez

Forez (Occitan: Forés, Forin; Arpitan: Forêz) is a former province of France, corresponding approximately to the central part of the modern Loire département and a part of the Haute-Loire and Puy-de-Dôme départements. The final "z" in Forez (French pronunciation: [fɔʁɛ]) is not pronounced in the Loire département; however, it is pronounced in the western part of the former province, essentially when referring to the correspondent Forez mountains (on the border between Puy-de-Dôme and Loire. The name is derived from the city of Feurs. Franco-Provençal is the language that was historically spoken in the region. The city of Montbrison, Loire is considered the historical capital of the Forez. Residents of the Forez are called Foréziens. The rue du Forez in the third arrondissement of Paris was built in the late 16th century and appears on Turgot's map of Paris. Honoré d'Urfé was a native of Forez, and set his novel L'Astrée there.