Rhône-et-Loire was the former department of France whose prefecture (capital) was Lyon. Created on 4 March 1790, like the other French departments, Rhône-et-Loire was disbanded on 12 August 1793 when it was split into two departments: Rhône (prefecture: Lyon) and Loire (prefecture: Feurs, then Montbrison, and then Saint-Étienne, the current capital). The division of Rhône-et-Loire was a response to counterrevolutionary activities in Lyon which, by population, was the country's second largest city. By splitting Rhône-et-Loire, which was the natural economic and, potentially, military hinterland of Lyon, the government sought to protect the French Revolution from the potential power and influence of the counterrevolutionary revolt in the Lyon region.