Manufacture des tabacs de Riom, Historical tobacco factory in Riom, France.

The manufacture des tabacs de Riom is a former tobacco factory built from 1878 to 1883 along the railway south of Riom station. Its pale multi-storey facades, regular window rows and reddish-brown pitched roofs with tall brick chimneys form a long rectangular complex, with a taller projecting central block and a shorter wing on the left. The buildings are separated by wide passages spanned by metal footbridges, and Volvic stone was used in their construction.

The first cigarettes were rolled on 1 February 1869 in temporary premises, an old slaughterhouse then the Vercingétorix cavalry barracks. The purpose-built factory along the railway south of the station was designed by Riom engineer René Dargnies, begun on 30 July 1878 and completed in 1883. Electrification and expansion in 1908 raised output from 2,200 tonnes in 1906 to 3,300 tonnes in 1909; a second extension followed in 1936. Production moved to La Varenne in 1975 and ended there in 2017.

The site shows how tobacco production shaped the town and gave work to many women during the industrial era. This role as a major employer left deep marks on the community and how people lived together.

Access to the site may be limited as the complex is undergoing transformation and rehabilitation for new uses. Visitors should check ahead to learn which areas are open and whether guided visits are available.

When foundations were dug, workers found a buried Roman-era channel and, beneath the northern half of the complex, walls, a stone basin, terracotta pipes, about a dozen wells, a double burial under tegulae, amphorae and ceramics, plus a possible figurine of Harpocrates.