The 25-year-old only moved to St James' Park in January from Bordeaux for a fee of £5million, but he has failed to secure a starting spot under Rafael Benitez.
Newcastle are now ready to let the Senegal international leave on loan and, according to Le Progres, he will link up with St Etienne for the season.
The deal, however, contains no option to buy and there is a chance Saivet could return to fight for his place at St James' Park in a year's time.
St Etienne are raiding England for loan players this summer and are also working on a similar deal for Aston Villa midfielder Jordan Veretout.