a town of France, capital of the department of Ardèche, stands in the midst of barren and rugged hills, on a steep ridge separating the valley of the Ouvèze from that of a small affluent, 26 miles S.W. of Valence. It has one principal street, running along the ridge, and terminating at either end in terraces planted with trees. Though presenting an imposing appearance from a distance, Privas is smaller than the capital of any other department in France; and the only conspicuous building is the courthouse, which has a Grecian portico. In the town and its vicinity there are many mills for reeling and throwing silk, which is produced in abundance in the surrounding country. There are also manufactures of woollen stuff, brandy, and leather; and an active trade is carried on in these articles, as well as in cattle and rural produce. In the civil wars of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries in France, Privas, which was then a strongly-fortified town, played a conspicuous part, being always favourable to the Protestant party. In 1612 a synod of the Reformed churches in France was held here. In 1629 it was bravely defended by a small garrison under St André de Montbrun against Louis XIII., but after a siege of two months, had to be abandoned. Montbrun, being soon after taken, was hanged; and the fortifications of Privas were levelled to the ground. Pop. (1856) 4804.