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An excavator of the French army works to free coaches blocked by snow on March 13, 2013, on the D901 (secondary road 901) near Beaumont-Hague, northwestern France. More than 68,000 homes were without electricity in France and hundreds of people were trapped in their cars after a winter storm hit with heavy snow, officials and weather services said on March 12. Twenty-six regions in northwest and northern France were put on orange alert because of heavy snowfalls, which Meteo France said were “remarkable for the season because of the expected quantity and length of time”. AFP PHOTO/ ALAIN JOCARD