In 1963, the French government established its first two national parks, Vanoise National Park in Savoie and Port-Cros National Park in Var. There are currently 10 national parks in France and French overseas territories. The government set up a French National Parks Bureau to manage this system. France is a highly developed country. The French national parks protect a total area of 3,710 km2 in the core areas and 9,162 km2 in buffer zones in France, covering more than 2% of the area of the country. The Parc National des Ecrins in the Alps covers 918 km2 and is the largest national park in mainland France.
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(2020). National Park System, France. In: Chen, A., Ng, Y., Zhang, E., Tian, M. (eds) Dictionary of Geotourism. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-2538-0_1686
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-2538-0_1686
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