Lons-le-Saunier

French town, capital of the département of Jura, 75 km/47 mi northwest of Geneva, Switzerland, on the River Vallière; population (1999) 18,500. It is a tourist centre, and has been known as a spa since the 4th century. There are a number of 18th-century houses and two medieval churches. Wines and salt are produced, and there is microtechnology industry and a trade in cheese, horses, and cattle.

Claude Rouget de Lisle, the composer of the ‘Marseillaise’, was born here.