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| | Articles - France |
 | | Four of these 100 départements are overseas départements, which are former colonies outside metropolitan France that now enjoy a status similar to European or metropolitan France. |
 | | France possesses a large variety of landscapes, ranging from coastal plains in the north and west, where France borders the North Sea and the Atlantic Ocean, to the mountain ranges in the south (the Pyrenees) and the south-east (the Alps), the latter containing the highest point in western Europe, Mont Blanc at 4810 m. |
 | | The régions, départements, and communes are known as territorial collectivities ( collectivités territoriales), while the arrondissements and the cantons are mere administrative divisions. |
| www.gaple.com /articles/France?mySession=6747e436481fbdc2352e6ef956d26b28 (2731 words) |
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