The industrial village of Salin-de-Giraud

In the mid-nineteenth century, 10,000 ha were developed by the company Henri Merle (Péchiney thereafter). Solvay settled next. The village of Salin-de-Giraud is born from the double implantation of Péchiney and Solvay in the late nineteenth century and their need for salt. The two companies turned to outside labor, initially from surrounding areas and then of Italian, Armenian and Greek origin, to carry out this painful work of salt exploitation.