> On the other hand, if France isn't "Western Europe", who is?
Well, it really depends on where in France. Even culturally (except for the language), people in cities which are in the South of France such as Marseille are much closer to Spanish / Italians / Maghrebians than to other French from Paris on many points.
By the way, a maybe simpler, and for sure more objective division could have been between "EU" and "Non-EU Europe"