Alexander
GA Member
- Oct 11, 2023
- 215
December 2002
It had been a long battle but after a drawn out siege in an even more drawn out civil war things were about to come to an end. Republican forces, the last major faction that had yet to surrender to the Legitimist Movement was on their final legs and held out in Paris and Versailles. In the face of the incredible manpower and technological differences between the Legitimists and the Republicans there was really only one way things could end and many on the Republican side had taken to defecting as Legitimists approached as a result. Now the siege of Paris, which had been going on for half a year at this point, was coming to an end. Most of the banlieue had been taken and it was estimated only a few thousand soldiers guarded the centre of Paris and the Versailles banlieue. These soldiers were by far the most battle-hardened and elite in the Republican arsenal and as a result they were faced with the most elite in Legitimist Army. There were other battles still ongoing, smaller parts of France that refused to surrender when their larger factions did and a few seeking independence. However Legitimist overlordship over the Navy and Air Force had ensured the Overseas Territories would remain strictly under their control and the holdouts on the mainland would easily be dealt with once Paris fell.
Thérèse Orleans was not a conventional 21st century imperial. Despite only being 18 years old when the original conflict started back in 1995, over the earlier 7 years she had grown both into a respectable woman and an even more respectable leader. Of course with assassination attempts as early as her fifth day of life, she quickly had to grow into adulthood, and her father having been a soft piece of shit there really wasn't anyone to protect her so she had to do that herself too. Now however she commanded the largest military force in France by far and was both feared and loved by the French people in equal measure. She understood cruelty and love needed to be balanced. As such over the years while she had ordered the destruction of entire villages and the eradication of entire bloodlines, she had also shown mercy and provided essentials to everyone inside the areas she controlled. Especially her decisions to grant mercy to both the Bourbons and Bonaparte dynasties upon their surrenders meant that her once most powerful enemies had become her best friends, and with them the forces under their control.
As she walked into the, previously makeshift, command centre just outside the city centre of Paris she saw her generals in extensive discussions on how to proceed next. "Status?" Thérèse asked as she approached the central table, which due to being a large display and connected to the computer systems also provided an extensive map and other important data.
"We have broken through the final road which connected Paris to Versailles, so the Republican leadership is now cut off from the bulk of their forces. However they are still holding out. It is looking like we will need to have our Air Force bomb both locations" General Duke Henri de la Fayette, the Duke of Normandy and previously a Bonapartist, spoke.
Thérèse let the idea go through her head for a moment. While most of the civilians had fled Paris for the most part between the occupied areas of Paris and Versailles there were still anywhere from 100,000 to 300,000 civilians trapped between the warring forces. Added to that the bombing of those two locations would almost certainly involve the destruction of some of France's most valuable and iconic possessions, and the destruction of Versailles would certainly affect the grandeur of her future role as Empress of the French.
"Does Versailles still have the means to receive communications from us?"
Upon receiving a confirmation in the affirmative she would proceed. "Hold your positions. I want to send a message to the Republican government. Insist to them that their cause is lost and for the sake of the military loyal to them, the people of France and the identity of France to surrender. Give them 48 hours to comply or I will order Paris and Versailles to be levelled"
January 2003
The Republican government had taken the offer to surrender, after that the few remaining conflicts were also brought to an end, and with that the French Civil War had come to an end. The Republic had fallen and Empress Thérèse officially had control of France and her Overseas Territories. The Third French Empire did have a constitution, but one that left all executive powers in the hands of the Empress as well as far-reaching powers to impose legislation through Imperial Proclamations. The Parliament still was needed for regular legislation however and there was an unwritten agreement that after each election the Empress would appoint a Prime Minister from the largest party in the National Assembly, which was the Chamber directly elected by the people. The Senate consisted of the nobility of France, with voting power determined by rank. A Duke had a voting weight of 10, a Marquis of 8, a Comte of 5, a Vicomte of 4, and a baron of 2. All non-peer ranks (Chévalier, Écuyer, Gentilhomme) each had a voting weight of 1.
There was still one thing left to do however, the Republicans had surrendered but by pushing the war to its very end they had personally lost all chances of obtaining the mercy that was granted to their armed forces and the civilians in their controlled areas. As she walked onto the Courtyard of Versailles with hundreds of cameras pointed in her direction she stepped onto a stage, behind her 10 guillotines had been assembled and behind them stood the executioner as well as the convicts. Walking behind a lectern with the revived Coat of Arms of the House of Orléans from the July Monarchy on it, she would face the hundreds of national and international reporters. The dress she wore still displayed the scar above her left breast where the assassins had failed to stab her heart in the hospital. Usually she hid it but on this occasion she would proudly display it.
"People of France, the war has come to an end!
For years we have been fighting each other in a senseless war, but with the final surrender of the Basque Independence movement, this war is now at an end. Before we can truly bring it to an end however there is one task remaining. Perhaps the most important yet difficult task any ruler can have. But one the weight of the decision means no other person can hold that responsibility. The duty to implement the legal court judgement to proclaim death. The leadership of the Republican faction has been found guilty of High Treason, as such in line with my duties as the Empress of the French and the power given to me by God as the divinely appointed ruler of France I, Thérèse of Orléans, Empress of the French am sentencing you, Gaëtane Lapointe, Hugues Deniau, Marcellin Bourdillon, Jean-Paul David, Gaspard Robert, Jean-Paul Bouvier, Josette Sauveterre, Martial Chastain, and Annabelle Lambert to death."
As the sentence was made complete with the Empress' order the 10 men and women were each placed on the guillotine. All but one, Gaëtane Lapointe the so called President of France, went quietly. As he begged for mercy and apologized for his crimes Thérèse even felt some mercy, but that feeling was quickly replaced with disgust for his cowardice. He, who had sent hundreds of thousands to their deaths, would now not face the end of his life with grace. Especially after so often ordering her assassination as a child. She would simply remain silent as he was forced onto the block and locked in place as well.
Once all 10 guillotines were ready she would raise her hands to signal the executioners and then lowered it to order the sentence to be completed. With the cameras on the guillotines the blades would be dropped. The cameras then turned back to the Empress to finish her speech.
"With these final deaths, the war is over. The Third French Empire will stand and as long as I live I will never allow chaos to return to this country. While my power is given by God, it is only given for me to use in service to you. France will never be weak again, France will never need foreign powers to rescue our territories for us, France will never be conquered again, France will stand for another 1500 years. Our first focus shall be to rebuild our country and restore order to New Caledonia, then we shall work to regain our authority in this brave new world. Vive la France!"
At that point all French journalists, as well as the Azure Guard (so named for the Azure cloaks on their ceremonial uniforms and the Azure patch on their more practical uniforms) and any other Franch nationals in unison would yell "Vive l'Impératrice! Vive la France!"
It had been a long battle but after a drawn out siege in an even more drawn out civil war things were about to come to an end. Republican forces, the last major faction that had yet to surrender to the Legitimist Movement was on their final legs and held out in Paris and Versailles. In the face of the incredible manpower and technological differences between the Legitimists and the Republicans there was really only one way things could end and many on the Republican side had taken to defecting as Legitimists approached as a result. Now the siege of Paris, which had been going on for half a year at this point, was coming to an end. Most of the banlieue had been taken and it was estimated only a few thousand soldiers guarded the centre of Paris and the Versailles banlieue. These soldiers were by far the most battle-hardened and elite in the Republican arsenal and as a result they were faced with the most elite in Legitimist Army. There were other battles still ongoing, smaller parts of France that refused to surrender when their larger factions did and a few seeking independence. However Legitimist overlordship over the Navy and Air Force had ensured the Overseas Territories would remain strictly under their control and the holdouts on the mainland would easily be dealt with once Paris fell.
Thérèse Orleans was not a conventional 21st century imperial. Despite only being 18 years old when the original conflict started back in 1995, over the earlier 7 years she had grown both into a respectable woman and an even more respectable leader. Of course with assassination attempts as early as her fifth day of life, she quickly had to grow into adulthood, and her father having been a soft piece of shit there really wasn't anyone to protect her so she had to do that herself too. Now however she commanded the largest military force in France by far and was both feared and loved by the French people in equal measure. She understood cruelty and love needed to be balanced. As such over the years while she had ordered the destruction of entire villages and the eradication of entire bloodlines, she had also shown mercy and provided essentials to everyone inside the areas she controlled. Especially her decisions to grant mercy to both the Bourbons and Bonaparte dynasties upon their surrenders meant that her once most powerful enemies had become her best friends, and with them the forces under their control.
As she walked into the, previously makeshift, command centre just outside the city centre of Paris she saw her generals in extensive discussions on how to proceed next. "Status?" Thérèse asked as she approached the central table, which due to being a large display and connected to the computer systems also provided an extensive map and other important data.
"We have broken through the final road which connected Paris to Versailles, so the Republican leadership is now cut off from the bulk of their forces. However they are still holding out. It is looking like we will need to have our Air Force bomb both locations" General Duke Henri de la Fayette, the Duke of Normandy and previously a Bonapartist, spoke.
Thérèse let the idea go through her head for a moment. While most of the civilians had fled Paris for the most part between the occupied areas of Paris and Versailles there were still anywhere from 100,000 to 300,000 civilians trapped between the warring forces. Added to that the bombing of those two locations would almost certainly involve the destruction of some of France's most valuable and iconic possessions, and the destruction of Versailles would certainly affect the grandeur of her future role as Empress of the French.
"Does Versailles still have the means to receive communications from us?"
Upon receiving a confirmation in the affirmative she would proceed. "Hold your positions. I want to send a message to the Republican government. Insist to them that their cause is lost and for the sake of the military loyal to them, the people of France and the identity of France to surrender. Give them 48 hours to comply or I will order Paris and Versailles to be levelled"
January 2003
The Republican government had taken the offer to surrender, after that the few remaining conflicts were also brought to an end, and with that the French Civil War had come to an end. The Republic had fallen and Empress Thérèse officially had control of France and her Overseas Territories. The Third French Empire did have a constitution, but one that left all executive powers in the hands of the Empress as well as far-reaching powers to impose legislation through Imperial Proclamations. The Parliament still was needed for regular legislation however and there was an unwritten agreement that after each election the Empress would appoint a Prime Minister from the largest party in the National Assembly, which was the Chamber directly elected by the people. The Senate consisted of the nobility of France, with voting power determined by rank. A Duke had a voting weight of 10, a Marquis of 8, a Comte of 5, a Vicomte of 4, and a baron of 2. All non-peer ranks (Chévalier, Écuyer, Gentilhomme) each had a voting weight of 1.
There was still one thing left to do however, the Republicans had surrendered but by pushing the war to its very end they had personally lost all chances of obtaining the mercy that was granted to their armed forces and the civilians in their controlled areas. As she walked onto the Courtyard of Versailles with hundreds of cameras pointed in her direction she stepped onto a stage, behind her 10 guillotines had been assembled and behind them stood the executioner as well as the convicts. Walking behind a lectern with the revived Coat of Arms of the House of Orléans from the July Monarchy on it, she would face the hundreds of national and international reporters. The dress she wore still displayed the scar above her left breast where the assassins had failed to stab her heart in the hospital. Usually she hid it but on this occasion she would proudly display it.
"People of France, the war has come to an end!
For years we have been fighting each other in a senseless war, but with the final surrender of the Basque Independence movement, this war is now at an end. Before we can truly bring it to an end however there is one task remaining. Perhaps the most important yet difficult task any ruler can have. But one the weight of the decision means no other person can hold that responsibility. The duty to implement the legal court judgement to proclaim death. The leadership of the Republican faction has been found guilty of High Treason, as such in line with my duties as the Empress of the French and the power given to me by God as the divinely appointed ruler of France I, Thérèse of Orléans, Empress of the French am sentencing you, Gaëtane Lapointe, Hugues Deniau, Marcellin Bourdillon, Jean-Paul David, Gaspard Robert, Jean-Paul Bouvier, Josette Sauveterre, Martial Chastain, and Annabelle Lambert to death."
As the sentence was made complete with the Empress' order the 10 men and women were each placed on the guillotine. All but one, Gaëtane Lapointe the so called President of France, went quietly. As he begged for mercy and apologized for his crimes Thérèse even felt some mercy, but that feeling was quickly replaced with disgust for his cowardice. He, who had sent hundreds of thousands to their deaths, would now not face the end of his life with grace. Especially after so often ordering her assassination as a child. She would simply remain silent as he was forced onto the block and locked in place as well.
Once all 10 guillotines were ready she would raise her hands to signal the executioners and then lowered it to order the sentence to be completed. With the cameras on the guillotines the blades would be dropped. The cameras then turned back to the Empress to finish her speech.
"With these final deaths, the war is over. The Third French Empire will stand and as long as I live I will never allow chaos to return to this country. While my power is given by God, it is only given for me to use in service to you. France will never be weak again, France will never need foreign powers to rescue our territories for us, France will never be conquered again, France will stand for another 1500 years. Our first focus shall be to rebuild our country and restore order to New Caledonia, then we shall work to regain our authority in this brave new world. Vive la France!"
At that point all French journalists, as well as the Azure Guard (so named for the Azure cloaks on their ceremonial uniforms and the Azure patch on their more practical uniforms) and any other Franch nationals in unison would yell "Vive l'Impératrice! Vive la France!"
