Fiction:Laurene Maxime

Laurene Maxime (born 2709) is a Human author, stateswoman, politician, and the current President of France.

History
Raised on the French core planet of Nouvelle Perséphonie, she started off her writing career in 2730 as political corespondent for a local news organization, cultivating a holoblog on the side.

In 2743, having garnered a thorough understanding of how the system worked, she was hired as deputy press secretary to Jean-Marie Bisset in his bid for Deputy to the National Assembly for the préfecture of Illus, and was then promoted to press secretary for his re-election campaign in 2747. During this time, she published numerous essays on political theory and foreign relations, including an internationally acclaimed book called POTATO: Proud America in the Modern World.

After three consecutive terms in the National Assembly, Jean-Marie Bisset ran for president in 2754. Maxime was appointed campaign manager and was rewarded for her efforts, loyalty, and skill with a position on Bisset's cabinet. She served as Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2754 to 2764. Once Bisset's tenure as president was over and he lost re-election, Maxime ran for the office of préfet of Illus and was voted in in 2769 after an unsuccessful campaign in 2765. She served three terms as préfet from 2769 to 2781. In 2784, she was appointed Prime Minister of France during Guillaume Pelissier's administration and served as such through the first years of the Dominatus War.

In 2794, she ran for president, promising to continue Pelissier's work and put an honorable end to the Dominatus War. When the votes came in, she was ushered into office by a landslide majority. Later that year, she proudly announced along with a number of other world leaders that the Dominatus had been defeated in their home galaxy of Mirus.

2795 saw the signing of the Franco-Tybusen Accords in the Élysée Palace which marked the success of a diplomatic policy of rapprochement with one of France's allies during the Dominatus War, the Tybusen Intergalactic Allied Federation. The treaty gave France access to the TIAF's hyperlane network, leading to the founding of extragalactic colonies like the French Quadrant and Bunsen colonies.

In 2796, she confronted the East African Crisis and thrust France to the forefront of events, leading coalition of nations in a diplomatic confrontation with the Imperial Ottoman Directorate. Near the end of the crisis, she ordered a military intervention in East Africa with several other human nations.

Politics
French policy under Maxime's administration has been characterized by cautious, sometimes harsh pragmatism, furthering the interests of France on the galactic stage as well as at home. Her actions on the galactic stage are not without compassion, however, but it can be argued that none of them were truly selfless. As was the case in the East African Crisis as well as in numerous incidents in the intergalactic colonies, there was always that ever-present vein of benefit which was being harnessed. Abroad, she has demonstrated a willingness to make friends with alien civilizations, even to lean on them with necessary, as was the case with the Tybusen Intergalactic Allied Federation: France's emergent colonial empire is strung together by the TIAF's hyperlane network.

At home, she has been less active, though her commentary on social and economic issues points to a deep-seated respect for sentience, life, and the right of individuals, cultures, and civilizations to self determination. When asked to apply these principles abroad, however, she repeatedly pointed to the fact that alien races and civilizations do not share the same moral systems and feelings as humans and many near humans, and it is not France's place to force them upon others.

Image
Over the years, Maxime has cultivated an image as a well educated, capable, and courageous leader, taking harsh stances where others might compromise. Her portfolio as a writer and scholar on international relations is well known and was capitalized upon by her campaign. That, compounded with her years of experience as foreign minister and Préfet made for an impressive history which many argue was a deciding factor in ushering her into office.

While many are frustrated with her social stances or lack thereof (in some cases), Maxime enjoys a very high approval rating in France and is credited with the creation of the French intergalactic colonial empire and the upwards boom in the French economy.

Works
Maxime is an accomplished writer, having published numerous essays and books on various topics, including international relations, internal politics, and economics. Not all of these have received international acclaim and even fewer are widely known, but scholars agree that her work is well-researched and her conclusions often sound and insightful.


 * POTATO: Proud America in the Modern World (2749) - Analyzes POTATO's place in contemporary politics and explores how it got there historically.
 * European Unity (2756) - An analysis of the European Star Republic's emergent stance on human unification. Also touches upon European ideals of unity and politics between the previously independent states of Europe.
 * 911 and the Julianne Disaster (2770) - Draws a comparison between the terrorist attacks on the United States on September 11, 2001, the recent Julianne Disaster in 2768, and the wars that followed both. She concludes the book cautioning against making the same mistakes that America made in the aftermath, though she underlines out a fundamentally difference in approach to occupation between 2000's America and contemporary France: France has a Foreign Legion, America did not.
 * The State of Inter-Human Politics (2783) - A lengthy dissertation that analyses different nations and alliances in the Plazith Rim, the mechanisms that bind them together, the workings of the modern political scene, and growing alien influences. Acclaimed as by far her best work, it is required reading for aspiring diplomats and political scientist at several academies in France. However, it has been criticized by some foreign scholars as fronting a western point of view. Others have argued that it centers too closely around human history and politics and fails to acknowledge many of the contributions made by near-humans and other species.

By her
"It takes men like him to remind us that we have responsibilities that transcend our own national interest. But I don't share his optimism, I am sorry to say. Humanity is too fractured, too different to act as a single, unified whole. Men like him often point to common human action during the Dominatus War as a sign that this is possible. It's a pleasant thought, but did we act out of hope for a better future then? I remember vividly: We acted out of fear."

- After meeting Aidan Collins

By others
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