a town of France, capital of an arrondissement, in the department of Puy-de-Dôme, 23 miles E.N.E. of Clermont. Its elevated position gives it a very picturesque aspect from a distance, but on a nearer approach it is found to be irregularly built, with narrow steep streets, and houses which, though solid, have a gloomy appearance. It has two old churches, the ruins of a castle, manufactures of hardware, embroidery, woollen cloth, leather, paper, and playing cards, and an active trade in manufactured articles, mill-stones, and pottery. Pop. (1856) 15,120.