a town of east-central France, in the department of Rhone, on the Turdine, 28 m. W.N.W. of Lyons by rail. Pop. (1906) 11,643. It is the centre of a region engaged in the production of muslins, tarletans, embroidery and silk-plush, and in printing, bleaching and other subsidiary processes. Till 1756, when the manufacture of muslins was introduced from Switzerland, the town lay unknown among the Beaujolais mountains. The manufacture of Swiss cotton yarns and crochet embroideries was introduced at the end of the 18th century; at the beginning of the 19th figured stuffs, openworks and zephyrs were first produced. The manufacture of silk-plush for hats and machine-made velvets was set up towards the end of the 19th century. A busy trade is carried on in corn, cattle, linen, hemp, thread and leather.