France | Message to the United States

[Taranis]

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French Republic
Official Correspondence

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Classification: Restricted
To: Jackson Fitzgerald, Secretary of State ( Odinson )
From: Jean-Pierre Raffarin, Prime Minister
Subject: Franco-American relations

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Mr Secretary,

The United States and France have enjoyed stable relations since the creation of your country. To maintain our very special relationship, my Government wishes to have a meeting with your Government.

Our proposed agenda is:

• Military relations and cooperation
• Situation in the Congo
• Situation with Spain
• Trade

This is, of course, open to negotiation if the United States wishes to discuss something else.

I look forwards to your speedy reply.

Best wishes,

Jean-Pierre Raffarin
Prime Minister

 

[Odinson]

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OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY OF STATE​

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ENCRYPTED MESSAGE​

TO: Jean-Pierre Raffarin, Prime Minister of the French Republic ( Taranis )​

FROM: Jackson Fitzgerald, Secretary of State of the United States of America

Prime Minister,

The Federal Government is excited to hear from your government, especially concerning recent global events. We would, of course, be more than happy to have a sit-down meeting with your government. On behalf of the President, I request that Robert T. Langlois be allowed to continue to be the United States Ambassador to France. If this acceptable, he could be the one to represent the United States in this meeting. However, if your government feels that higher-stake talks are needed considering the topics, the Deputy Secretary of State or myself could participate. We would be happy to set up a meeting in the United States and host a delegation, if needed.​

Best regards,

Jackson Fitzgerald
Secretary of State
​

 

[Taranis]

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French Republic
Official Correspondence

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Classification: Restricted

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To: Jackson Fitzgerald, Secretary of State ( Odinson )
From: Jean-Pierre Raffarin, Prime Minister
Subject: Re: Franco-American relations

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Mr Secretary,

In light of recent events in France, my President wishes for higher-stake talks. He therefore requests a meeting in the United States, to discuss the following:

• Pacific security (in particular, New Caledonia)
• Military cooperation
• Trade
• Situation in the Congo
• Situation in Spain

As for protocol, the President is happy to come himself; however, if you offer a different delegate, protocol demands we send a person of equal rank. We therefore ask, as soon as possible, who will represent the United States.

Best wishes,

Jean-Pierre Raffarin
Prime Minister

 

[Odinson]

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OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY OF STATE​

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ENCRYPTED MESSAGE​

TO: Jean-Pierre Raffarin, Prime Minister of the French Republic ( Taranis )​

FROM: Jackson Fitzgerald, Secretary of State of the United States of America

Prime Minister,

Due to the seriousness of these talks, perhaps we should put off trade for another time. However, I would be more than willing to discuss the matters that you have listed with the French Foreign Minister. He or she is more than welcome to fly to the Untied States, and we can meet at the State Department's Harry S. Truman building here in Washington D.C. I look forward to hearing back from you and having these discussions with you.​

Best regards,

Jackson Fitzgerald
Secretary of State
​

 

[Taranis]

Reply

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French Republic
Official Correspondence

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Classification: Restricted

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To: Jackson Fitzgerald, Secretary of State ( Odinson )
From: Michèle Alliot-Marie, Minister for the Armed Forces

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Mr Secretary,

The Minister is currently busy with other engagements; however as our talks will primarily be on the military I have agreed to represent France. I hope this is not too inconvenient. The agenda remains the same and I am well briefed on the matters at hand.

I look forwards to productive talks with you.

Yours sincerely,

Michèle Alliot-Marie
Minister for the Armed Forces

With the reply sent, Michèle Alliot-Marie would board a chartered Air France flight with her delegation, consisting primarily of herself and the Chief of Staff of the Navy. It would take off at Paris Charles de Gaulle without incident.

The aircraft would fly over the Atlantic smoothly and quickly, without entering any country's airspace. Once near the United States' airspace it would notify the relevant ATC, then, if they were allowed to continue, would fly to Dulles International Airport. After following all instructions of Dulles ATC, it would make its landing.

Once on the ground, Michèle would disembark and climb down the stairs to the waiting Americans.

 

[Odinson]

Private​

Minister Alliot-Marie and the Chief of Staff of the French Navy were welcomed to come to the United States. However, the French aircraft would be directed to land at Andrews Air Force Base, not Dulles. Once the aircraft landed, a motorcade made up of black SUVs and police cars would take the French delegation to the Pentagon in Virginia. Special agents from the Diplomatic Security Service drove the French delegation while D.C. Metropolitan Police escorted the motorcade. Because the French Minister of Defense and the French Chief of Staff of the Navy would be visiting to discuss mostly military matters, the decision was made to relocate the meeting to the Pentagon.

The French delegation would have to go through security, as anyone else would, before entering the Pentagon. The security measures included metal detectors and a search of bags. French security would not be allowed into the Pentagon and would have to wait outside with the motorcade. The French delegation were escorted by a half dozen armed DSS agents who brought the Frenchmen to a secure meeting room on the ground floor of the Pentagon. Waiting inside of the meeting room was the Secretary of Defense (John Glass), the Secretary of the Navy (Nickolas House), and the Secretary of State (Jackson Fitzgerald).

Secretary Fitzgerald offered his hand to Minister Alliot-Marie and introduced the other Americans in the room. A few other American officials were present, as well as someone to take a record of what was said during the meeting. On a cart beside them were various pastries, foods, and drinks in case the French were hungry. Everyone was offered a seat at the main table.

"It's a pleasure to host you here at the Pentagon," Secretary Glass said as he folded his hands on the large table between the two delegations. "I know that you wouldn't be here if this wasn't important... The first item on your agenda was New Caledonia?" the Secretary of Defense asked.​

Taranis

 

[Taranis]

"Thank you, Secretary Glass. Yes, this is very important to our Government, especially since we believe the United States is in a prime position to help.

Michele took out her briefing notes. "Yes, allow me to summarise the situation to you, in particular where we'd like for you to help. As you will no doubt be aware, the AINC has been formed as an organised independence movement against France in New Caledonia. There have been less organised and more discreet methods of unrest against us in the past, particularly by the Kanak people, but this is a full insurrection against us. They are well armed and are hiding deep inland in the forests.

"The AINC recently conducted a few attacks against us. An aircraft carrying police officers was shot down as it landed in New Caledonia. A crowd of civilians, no doubt supporting them, stormed and burnt down the police headquarters at Numea. Our Interior Minister, M. Sarkozy, was killed in an explosion in the suburbs of Paris... we believe it was the AINC too. And just a few days ago they raided the police headquarters at Koumac, killing or wounding some twenty officers."

She then turned to Jean-Louis Battet, Chief of Staff of the Navy, to explain how the United States could help.

"We believe that the United States, with your immense military experience and resources, could help us quell this revolt... until we have raised a military to deploy there ourselves, of course. Currently we only have lightly armed police officers and civilian vehicles- while the AINC have much faster, heavier and larger trucks. They also have more men than our forces on the island; albeit most of them are lightly armed, if armed at all.

"We will only need some soldiers, perhaps with light armour and helicopters, to patrol the forests outside major population centres. We may also need your assistance in raiding their base if needed, if only to secure the capture of a prisoner which they rescued in their raid of Koumac.

"This is, of course, all up to you, but France would be most grateful, and would feel more secure, if you helped us. We will only need you until we have recruited enough personnel, but you are welcome to remain and help us until the crisis ends entirely, maybe a little longer. What do you say?"

Odinson

 

[Odinson]

Private​

The private meeting continued as the senior American officials listened to their French colleagues explain the situation in New Caledonia.

"Firstly, Minister," said Secretary of State Fitzgerald, "I want to give the United States's condolences for the death of Interior Minister Sarkozy and for the violence that has occurred so far. In regard to the United States deploying its armed forces to New Caledonia... The President would have to authorize this directly. It would take a very strong case to convince the President to deploy American armed forces to put down a rebellion in a French territory on the other side of the planet. Because of the remoteness of New Caledonia, compared to the United States, that would be a large logistical undertaking even for a small force. Not to mention, if an American was killed, the American People would be demanding to know why Americans are fighting against rebels on a Pacific island owned by France, against rebels that have no quarrel with the United States... I'm sure you understand that this would present a very difficult political situation, ignoring the cost of the entire thing," he said as he looked at his French counterpart.

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[Taranis]

Michele nodded.

"Of course, we completely understand. The protection of your citizens is paramount, and we wouldn't wish to jeopardise that.

"That brings me on to military cooperation. In particular, we are hoping to purchase some vessels from the United States- 2 Cyclone-class Patrol Ships, and 20 Defender-class Boats. Would that be possible?"

Odinson

 

[Odinson]

Private​

The Secretary of Defense, John Glass, chimed in after Secretary Fitzgerald tried to play down a military deployment.

"Well," Secretary Glass said. "I agree that the Federal Government would need good reason to deploy ground forces in New Caledonia. But, before we move on, perhaps you could give us a bit more of a rundown on the situation? This would ultimately be the decision of the President, but we could send some naval assets to New Caledonia to monitor the situation, if you give us permission to do so. We could assist in gathering intelligence as well. The Louisiana National Guard has some French-speaking units that we could deploy, if the President chooses to. But again, we would need some good reasons to do so. While I understand that your government is lacking in equipment, perhaps you could still make a ground-forces deployment into New Caledonia? In such a scenario, American forces could be stationed in safe zones so that you don't have to waste manpower there. Just a thought," he said, and waited for his French colleague to respond.

Taranis

 

[Taranis]

Michele turned to the Naval Chief of Staff, who replied in her place.

"Well, to give a brief rundown, the AINC was formed days ago as a socialist, independence-leaning group, with only a few dozen at the start. Now it has grown into a large threat with popular support, especially among the Kanak people. This has forced the police to remain in large population centres, and even there the AINC has struck; for example, they raided the capital, Noumea, and took a prisoner with them. We deployed police to recapture him, but they were ambushed, and consequently, twenty officers are no captives.

"Other attacks by the AINC include the shooting down of a plane carrying reinforcements to the island, and the killing of M. Sarkozy. In short, they are a powerful threat, and we are still investigating how they have managed to reach so far and gain so many supplies. Safe to say our police are not well equipped to deal with it, and our military is preparing to take over within a week or so.

"A possible use of American forces could be in a hearts and minds strategy; delivering humanitarian aid. As we've said, the AINC enjoys widespread popular support, but their socialist ideals have not come to fruition yet- this is an ideal time to win the people back with aid. Your offer of French-speaking soldiers will no doubt help with this. They will be needed to travel both in population centres and more isolated villages, particularly in the north where the AINC has the most support. But of course this is up to you."

Odinson

 

[Odinson]

"I'm not sure that the President would support sending American troops into locations controlled by the terrorist organization in New Caledonia, but as I said, we would be willing to reinforce the positions that are still held by your armed forces once they are there. The American Navy could provide an escort for French troops to New Caledonia, since it's such a far journey from the Atlantic to the Pacific," Secretary Glass said.

"And in coordination with your armed forces, we could certainly provide humanitarian aid," Secretary Fitzgerald chimed in.

Taranis

 

[Taranis]

"Yes, I must warn you that even defending our held positions will be difficult, unless your soldiers are willing to engage in riot control and internal security operations. Other than that, I have no objection. On a timescale, we will be sending military forces within five days, and more police earlier." Michele said.

"Your offer of an escort is certainly something we will need," she continued, "owing to our lack of a navy, so thank you."

"As I don't think we'll be meeting any threats on the way there, we will only need some amphibious assault ships, or similar ships." the Naval Chief of Staff added. "However I must advise you that there will definitely be a possibility of meeting hostile civilians in port as we disembark, but our military and police can deal with that.

"And humanitarian aid will certainly be needed. While we'll be flying in aid from Metropolitan France, will you be sending it from Europe, or the Pacific? It will help us administratively to coordinate our operations better. We could rendezvous at French Polynesia and then our forces can fly them into New Caledonia ourselves. Supplies will have to be sent into isolated villages, probably with a hostile populaiton or surrounded by the AINC."

Odinson

 

[Odinson]

"How many troops would you like us to take by sea to French Polynesia? The process would be that they would fly to a military airbase in Virginia, we would load them onto our transport ships, and we would take them into the Pacific of a port of your choice, likely in French Polynesia as you said. Either the Air Force or the Navy can bring in aid, but we would need to know what kind of aid, exactly where to drop it, and when it would be safe to fly it in, as well as the hazards that are present," Secretary Glass said.

"We saw a report from Le Monde that the Thai Government was making an armed deployment to New Caledonia without your government's permission?" Secretary Glass asked, "Is that true?"

Taranis

 

[Taranis]

"Well, of course it depends on how much aid you want to drop, but an acceptable number to the French Government- based on logistical, security and political considerations- would be no more than a thousand soldiers. Of course this is up to you, and as they will be French-speaking the civilian population will be less hostile to your presence, but unless you can accomodate them at sea we really would like for them to be around that number."

"As for the specifics, we would like medical aid, food and water. Medical aid is not so much of a problem, but food and water would definitely be needed in small villags. Speaking of which, most aid will need to be sent into small, inland villages, occuupied by indigenous peoples. The Kanak people in particular support independence, but that is the point of this operation; to win them over. We will also need them in large population centres, where law and order has practically broken down and the usual supplies aren't gettinf through. Of course it is up to you, but bear in mind the North Province is more likely to support independence, and the South will be more affluent and Republic-supporting."

While he was speaking, the Naval Chief of Staff glanced at his pager and whispered something to Michele.

"Yes, I am aware of this. Our position is, currently, that we will allow it but under French command. This will not need to be applied to all foreign soldiers deploying in New Caledonia," she added quickly, "But given Thailand's recent acts of aggression, we felt that it would be best."

Odinson

 

[Odinson]

"Sorry, I think we are misunderstanding each other," Secretary Glass said. "We are offering to ferry French troops, by sea, using our Navy. We are not talking about sending American troops, by sea, to New Caledonia or French Polynesia. While we would be potentially willing to send troops for humanitarian purposes, it sounds to me that the situation on the ground is too stable. I do not think that a foreign Army on the ground there would be helpful at the moment - but it is something we could discuss once French troops were there. Does your government need assistance sending troops from France to New Caledonia? If so, we are willing to do so by sea," Secretary Glass said.

"Also, in regard to Thailand... Please keep us informed. If you find that they are not acting in your best interests, or if they are there for reasons other than providing relief, we would of course be willing to assist in any way possible to remove them. I can only hope that the Thai military would want to support your government during this time of crisis," he said.

Taranis

 

[Taranis]

"Ah, I see. Apologies for the misunderstanding, and yes, we will certainly need transporting troops- French troops- until we can mobilise our own navy. At the moment we plan on having around 1-2,000 soldiers deployed."

After having a sip of water, she continued.

"I also believe that you said our troops would fly to an airbase. We will probably require air transport for that too, for the same reason. Other than that I can make the necessary arrangements for them to arrive in French Polynesia."

"I am sure they have our interests at heart, of course, but our Government, understandably, is wary of allowing foreign troops entering New Caledonia. We will continue to monitor the situation, but at the moment we can only assume that they intend no harm and actually wish to provide humanitarian aid."

Odinson

 

[Odinson]

"We can transport 2,000 French soldiers from France, via ship, to French Polynesia. One of the only limiting requirements we would have is that the weaponry and ammunition for your troops are transported on a different ship than your troops. This is for safety and logistical reasons. If this is acceptable, I can bring that proposal to the President for his approval. What port in France would we be picking up your troops from?" he asked.

Taranis

 

[Taranis]

"Bordeaux, as it is the closest to the Atlantic. The rest is acceptable. We can have our soldiers there in two days, but if course it depends on how long it takes for your vessels to cross the Atlantic. Could we get a timescale from your end as to how long this will take?"

Odinson

 

[Odinson]

"It would take one to two days for our ships to cross the Atlantic, depending on weather conditions and a few other things. Like I said, I have to bring this information to the President and he would need to approve it. However, we can certainly pick them up this month, July. If there is nothing else to discuss on this topic, I will go to the White House immediately and discuss this with the President. Thank you for your time, Minister. I am confident that Secretary Fitzgerald can discuss the remaining topics that we have on the agenda," he said. If there was nothing else to discuss on this topic, he would get up and leave and head to the White House.

"The next item on our agenda was the situation in the Congo... What would you like to discuss, regarding that?" Secretary Fitzgerald asked.

Taranis