Fiction:Alexandre I

"The ultimate goal of this war should not be 'victory,' the complete eradication of our enemies and the dismantlement of their empires. History has shown that such settlements lead to even more instability, conflict, and bloodshed. Instead, the ultimate goal of this war should be an equitable and lasting peace."

- Alexandre I, The Path to Peace, 2803

Alexandre Valéry (born 2714), referred to formally as Alexandre I, by the Will of the People and the Grace of the Nation, Emperor of the French and Lord of the Andromedan Light, is a French human soldier, politician, Prime Minister, and the current head of state of the French Colonial Empire. Born in the Le Bren region of Metropolitan France, Alexandre was educated abroad in the European Star Republic before enlisting in the Foreign Legion. When he returned to civilian life, he entered politics as a consultant and, over the course of fourty years, worked his way up to Prime Minister and became the most influential power broker in the French Sixth Republic

As Prime Minister, Alexandre would be instrumental in the implementation of President Laurene Maxime's domestic policies and the two came to respect and admire each other despite sporadic influence wars between them. In 2800, he was sent to to negotiate the Alcanti Triad Alliance, which would serve as the backbone of the massive Xonexi Allies he could come to lead three years later. From 2800 to 2802, the Prime Minister became increasingly embroiled in internal infighting within the French Republic, especially during the disastrous Great Xonexian Schism. Tensions between liberals and conservatives finally came to a head in June of 2802 when a parliamentary uprising overthrew the Maxime administration, killed the President, and forced many members of the administration into exile.

Alexandre resurfaced in early 2803 as head of state of the French Colonial Empire, a breakaway movement from France. Crowned by the Emergency Colonial Congress, he had been declared Emperor of the French but held very little political power. Over the course of the year, as the French Colonial Empire's position went from bad to worse, Alexandre's involvement and influence grew. Finally, as a crisis erupted between the leadership of the Xonexi Allies and France, Alexandre took power and successfully led the Empire through the War of Mirusian Coalition without Allied help, irrevocably demonstrating his credibility as Emperor and the viability of his empire as a sovereign and independent state. He returned to the Xonexi Allies a hero. and by 2804, had assumed leadership of the organization's leading Board of Nine in time to be appointed its sole representative to peace negotiations with the Delpha Coalition of Planets.

Early life
Alexandre was born in 2714 in the Le Bren region of France, the son of a pair of conservative parents who then moved to the planet Tuseau in Karone region in accordance to France's population laws. As a result, he grew up in what could he later called "the country's least inhabited backwater," and very quickly absorbed many of its conservative values. As a child, he was socially isolated from his classmates and received little support from his family. In public, he later praised his parents' pride and strength, though in private there were signs that he bore some resentment towards them.

At the age of eighteen, Alexandre left Le Bren to study at the traditionalist Highton University in the European Star Republic. There, he underwent a transformation, undoing all of his previous conservative education and acquiring a certain interest in numerous academic subjects. History, political science, and psychology interested him especially, though he seemed aimless––having no particular goal or plan for what he was going to do when he left Highton. Alexandre's interactions within the social sphere also changed as he went from socially inept to honing a gift for figuring out people's intentions and desires. He was by no means a part of the popular crowd, but his lonesome figure was something of a success among the females of the campus who, along with other things, were attracted to his brooding stares. However, he rarely kept the company of a particular female and was notoriously difficult to keep interested for more than a few weeks, as he seemed to form no emotional attachments with his love interests.

It was at the Leaver's ball in 2738 that Alexandre met Connor Hathaway, a lifelong companion and one of the few people he is truly able to call a friend. At the time, Connor was Vice-President of the student body and a member of the school hotshots, but Alexandre found in meeting him that there was more to the guy than that. They fantasized about running away to join the French Foreign Legion, and fantasies morphed into plans which consolidated into action. That morning, they visited the FFL's recruitment office and enlisted.

French Foreign Legion
Through the Foreign Legion's arduous training regimen both before and after he became a legionary, Alexandre learned discipline and to value his instincts as well as his razor-sharp mind. Connor, on the other hand, threatened to break under the stresses that FFL life placed on him. He would not have made it through basic training had Alexandre not propped him up and demanded that he keep going. They were eventually assigned to the same C-38A5 main battle tank, though they knew very little combat given that it was a peaceful time for France. However, in one incident in 2741, they were dispatched to the planet Aprilia to aid one of France's enclaves in putting down an armed insurrection. Their tank was critically damaged in the fighting, and out of the crew only Alexandre and Connor were left alive, stranded behind enemy lines. When they were finally found three days later, Connor had been broken by having to kill a rebel in close combat. He barely made the three years of service required for a French citizenship before being honorably discharged and diagnosed with PTSD. Alexandre left the Legion soon after.

Early political career
After loitering for a while and attempting a career in argumentative writing, Alexandre entered politics as a self-styled political consultant who would tag along with powerful figures and advise them on how to navigate the political scene. He began his practice in the provincial council of New Persephonie from 2742 to 2745 and then moved to in 2746 to tackle politics in the French National Assembly. The information and experience he gained during this period would serve him throughout the rest of his life as a politician.

He quickly became indispensable to those who hired him and quickly managed to wriggle his way into the structure of the French Socialist Party and earned himself a seat as a deputy of the National assembly in 2750. From there, he threw himself into the fray of intrigue and politics, deftly forging a network of connections and allies which served to project his own personal influence. By the 2780's, he had gotten himself elected President of the National Assembly and utterly dominated the French parliament.



Prime Minister of France
It was through his alliance with the Pelissier government in the early 2790's which would serve as his final stepping stone to real political power. When Laurene Maxime was elected president in 2794, she appointed him Prime Minister of a nation at war. The Maxime government's first years were heavily intertwined with the Dominatus War, and Alexandre spent much of his time keeping the French government in line.

The fact that Maxime was a very hands-on president in nearly all aspects of government left Alexandre very little room to maneuver according to his wishes. The two were often at odds during Maxime's first term despite sharing similar ideologies and worldviews. However, Alexandre proved his usefulness time and time again by smoothening out crises, undoing her political opponents in lower rungs of government, and exercising his influence behind her back to accomplish France's goals. His favorite realm of politics––international relations––was barred from his position, but that did not keep him from having a hand in France's foreign policy.

Alexandre participated in a state visit to the Draconid Imperium in 2795, acquainting himself briefly with Paragon Uriel Ultanos and a few other key Draconis political figures, contacts which would prove useful in the future.

During the East African Civil War, Alexandre was instrumental in gathering the reactionary Coalition which intervened in East Africa. When Roreinian arms shipments were discovered on route to the East African Sultanate, a violation of the Orion League embargo, he personally convinced the Roreinians to withdraw their support for the rebel government before bringing the issue to the President, a fact that was discovered only much later.

By the beginning of Maxime's second term in 2797, Alexandre and the president had learned to work with one another without stepping on each others' toes. However, many within the French cabinet grew wary of the Prime Minister's growing power both at home and abroad. As France grew into an intergalactic superpower, Alexandre's influence seemed to drive everything. Through well-placed allies in such offices as the Economic Minister, the Minister of Immigration, the Presidents of the Senate and National Assembly, and several key ambassadors, he was everywhere and often came close to undermining the President's authority. This fact unnerved Maxime, leading her to replace certain key members of her cabinet after 2797.



Early Gigaquadrantic Conflicts
France's primary antagonist during the Gigaquadrantic Conflicts was the Delpha Coalition of Planets due to its increasingly expansionist and militarist policies as well as its sheer geopolitical dominance in the. Relations with the DCP were set in a downward spiral with the French Quadrantia Trade Route Crisis in 2799, where a lone DCP ship broke down in the middle of a French-owned trade route and subsequently destroyed a fleet of twenty-nine ships.

With the mysterious destruction of Halcyon B and the death of Maxime's foreign minister, the Gigaquadrant plunged into an era of tension, mistrust, and war. Much to Alexandre's frustration, Maxime kept from appointing a new foreign minister and handled French foreign policy by herself, making it far harder for him to influence it.

Though they nearly considered themselves political rivals by this point, Alexandre and Maxime still worked together with great effectiveness during the Gigaquadrantic Conflicts' many crises. During the Neraida Invasion, they formed a common front against those within the French government who preached isolation and denounced any possibility of Orion League military action against the Neraida invaders.

In June of 2800, the President sent Alexandre and two other French Marshals to a secret conference held on between the Draconid Imperium, France, and the Tybusen Intergalactic Allied Federation. Once there, Alexandre negotiated the Alcanti Triad Agreement, a secret treaty which would change the geopolitical makeup of the Gigaquadrant.

As France informally gathered other supporters and probed its many alliances for support against the DCP, a new development occurred on the galactic scene in 2801. The New Cyrannian Republic and a host of other nations wishing to remain neutral in the Gigaquadrantic Conflicts had met on and formed an organization meant to maintain their neutrality. However, it was well known that the New Cyrannian Republic weighed heavily on the side of the DCP in the looming Xonexi-DCP conflict, which led the French to suspect that the organization was meant as a tool to influence those nations to fight for the status quo. Maxime immediately called a meeting between the newly-appointed Foreign Minister Ballatay and the rest of her cabinet to discuss the issue. The Accords' acquisition of several Andromedan nations proved that the New Cyrannian Republic could pose much more of a threat than originally anticipated, and great changes to French foreign policy were made during that meeting. However, none of the officials present––including Alexandre––could provide an adequate solution to the Mou'Cyran problem. After four hours of discussion, the cabinet adjourned.

The next morning, Alexandre marched into Maxime's office and he set before her a bold solution to the geopolitical threat the Mou'Cyran Accords posed: a non-agression pact between France, its allies, and the Mou'Cyran Accords as an organization. Appreciating the merits of the offer, Maxime sent Ballatay immediately to seek approval first from TIAF Ambassador Ambrette Marseilles, and then from Paragon Uriel himself on.

Once the proposed treaty was ratified by all three of France's allies, Maxime delivered a rousing speech to the French Parliament announcing her intentions to make the offer in the name of peace––a speech which was then transmitted directly to.

The Mou'Cyrannian response was tentative but positive, turning down the proposed terms of Maxime's treaty. However, after some deliberation, they fronted an offer of their own. Their proposal was a non-aggression pact which added new sections dedicated to limiting the spread of the Xonexi-DCP conflict to the Xonexi Cluster. The ensuing talks resulted in the Treaty of Galactica, which ensured peace and good relations between the two factions.



Great Xonexian Schism

 * ''Further reading: Great Xonexian Schism

If war had been averted in the Cyrandia Cluster, the same could not be said about Xonexi. Tensions between the Delpha Coalition of Planets and the Xonexi Allies kept rising until they boiled over during the Orion War in March of 2802. United behind the President, the Maxime Administration––and indeed the nation as a whole––marched enthusiastically off to war, fueled by fervent anti-DCP sentiment.

However, as the war dragged on, Maxime's old enemies began to resurface. Whispers of discontent among the liberal wing of the Parti Socialiste spoke with disapproval of the ongoing war. While Maxime was consumed by the war effort and Ballatay was constantly away on missions in Allied capitals, Alexandre held down the fort in Paris. Working with Casimir Gérard, then President of the Senate, the Prime Minister was able to muffle the loudest voices of dissent, though Gérard's incompetence––or his unwillingness to persecute members of his own faction––made him a difficult intermediary.

The war turned against the Allies in the months leading up to June of 2802. Defeats such as the Takeover of Tholfame 22 and the failure of Operation Deviant Rim revived liberal opposition to the war. A growing faction in the French Parliament, led by leftist Deputy Faucheaux, held open meetings, rallied demonstrations, and attempted to impede the conservative-controlled Parliament. The final defeat of the Orion League at the Battle of the Dying Sun and the sudden crash of the GITO economy finally tipped the scales of public opinion. With conservative and liberal senators alike defecting to Faucheaux's camp, Alexandre recommended to the President that she use one of her constitutionally-mandated powers and disband the lower house of Parliament, a move which would win them at least a month while new Deputies were voted in.

That afternoon, Alexandre personally delivered the Presidential order to the French Parliament, accompanied by Connor and the rest of his senior staff. The plan backfired spectacularly when Faucheaux took them hostage, locking them in a storage room under the Parliamentary building. Fauchaux then used the upper house of Parliament––radicalized by Maxime's sudden move––to stage a coup which would result in the President's death and the installment of Casimir Gérard as Interim President of the French Republic.

Powerless to do anything, Alexandre knew nothing of the events on the surface until a group of Republican Guardsmen under Ballatay's command forced their way into the underground of the Parliament building and successfully evacuated the hostages. Under the cover of night, Alexandre and his staff were transported to the Glorious Enterprise, Ballatay's diplomatic ship as Foreign Minister of France, and they promptly fled the capital.

Exile
Prime Minister Alexandre's disappearance was buried in the chaos of June 21, going unnoticed by the general public. With the help of its wormhole drive, the Glorious Enterprise would journey to the safety of Allied-held space in Andromeda while the exiles pondered their options. They strongly considered reaching out to the Draconis or TIAF and requesting asylum in exchange for whatever political intelligence and expertise they could deliver. However, the decision was put off when news reached them of the memorial service Paragon Uriel was holding for their deceased president on Alcanti. Despite Ballatay's cautious warnings, Alexandre resolved to attend.

In the days leading up to the ceremony, arrangements were made. An ancillary ship, less conspicuous than France's premier diplomatic cruiser, was chartered for the trip to the Draconis capital. On June 28, Alexandre arrived on Alcanti with a small entourage of Republican Guards from Ballatay's personal detachment. With flowers in hand, he waded through black-veiled crowds until he stood in front of the magnificent marble statue of his former president and friend. It was unusually sentimental for him to have gone to such lengths to come, but he did not weep or shed a tear. As he placed his offerings in front of the statue, he dispensed with the past and returned to his ship resolved to come to terms with the idea that his best days were behind him.

That night, French Andromedan intelligence services found him and dispatched an extraction team to arrest him without telling the Draconis. Without warning, they stormed Alexandre's ship and subdued his Republican Guards after a series of intense firefights. Despite not having wielded a firearm in a combat situation in over fifty years, the former statesman was noted in classified reports as having picked up a sidearm and joined the engagement, killing a parachutist at close range and inflicting a wound on another. By the end of the scuffle, he was knocked unconscious by a blow to the back of the head and secretly transported back to French Andromeda.

Instead of being shuttled back to France and put on trial like he expected, Alexandre was quietly conducted to the office of French Andromedan President David Fauvre, a former conservative ally of the Maxime administration and a French Andromedan nationalist. There, the President explained his vision for a new French Colonial state which would continue the fight against the DCP and turn the tide of the war. It was an empire Fauvre wanted Alexandre to lead as Emperor.

Though it was an offer he could not refuse, Alexandre was immediately aware of just how little power he was going to have in this new government. As extensive preparations were set underway in June of 2802, Alexandre served as a secret envoy for David Fauvre and other secessionists, meeting with all of the colonial governments and coordinating with allied powers. Though he barely had a hand in decision-making, there was one area in which he was extremely influential, and that was planning the future policy of the French Colonial Empire. In September of 2802, Alexandre and a staff of ninety-six personnel set up shop in the countryside Richelieu, in a colonial villa formerly owned by a rich, heirless French Andromedan landlord. Operating out of those headquarters, Alexandre and his staff wrote The Path to Peace, which explained in plain speech where the future Emperor stood on policy issues, and how he would act as the head of state of the new French nation. A new cabinet was assembled in secret, composed partly of Maxime-era veterans Alexandre could trust.

Creation of the Empire
On January 4, the Emergency Colonial Congress, gathering representatives from the French colonies of Andromeda, Bunsen, Quadrantia, and Mirus, gathered in secret on Richelieu to approve the new constitution. Barely an hour later, Alexandre broadcasted a rallying call to arms to the French nation, a speech which would quickly be buried in Metropolitan France, but would spread like wildfire in the colonies. As promised, Alexandre Valéry was proclaimed Emperor of the French by unanimous vote soon thereafter, giving the French Colonial Empire a clear claim on all of France. In the days following the announcement, people began enlisting in droves in the newly-created Grand Navy of the Empire, and the new French state began the gruelling task of rebuilding its shattered military in preparation to rejoin the Great Xonexian Schism.

Alexandre's rise to power was met with great enthusiasm in the French colonies and he quickly assumed his role as spokesperson for the French Colonial government, both at home and abroad. In a gilded reception on January 11, he met with allied leaders aboard the ACV Xonexi's Resolve where he renewed his commitment to the Allied cause. Observers at the time noted how well he had slipped into his role as an active and gregarious head of state, capable of commanding a presence at such events. However, underlying the pomp and celebration was an insidious truth: the French Colonial Empire was vulnerable, and many doubted its ability to live up to the legacy left by the French Sixth Republic. Following the counsel of his advisers Uriel Ultanos recognized the new French state as a sovereign nation, but stopped short of recognizing it as the rightful government of all of France as Alexandre wished.

While some other courteous concessions were made, like handing over command of the Orion League Remnant to the French, Alexandre's government was still excluded from the decision-making bodies of the Xonexi Allies. This, the common narrative went among government circles, gave the French room to prove that their state will last, but some influential Draconis figures like Lord Admiral Leondias Drevex saw it differently. Drevex, an entrenched realist and military thinker, considered the long-term economic and military viability of the French Colonial Empire without the French mainland as a fluke; if they were denied full legitimacy, he predicted, internal problems of all sorts would eventually bring them to accept an offer of Pax Draconica from the Draconid Imperium.

Despite the best efforts of Alexandre's administration and of the Emergency Colonial Congress, progress during the first half of 2803 was slow. The Grand Navy of the Empire was struggling, local governments of all kinds were resisting efforts by the Congress to levy taxes and manpower, the war in Andromeda was going badly, and the matter of legitimacy continued to pursue Alexandre both abroad and at home. While the French Colonial public eagerly supported the war, officials within the Emergency Colonial Congress began to fear that the French colonies were being made protectorates of the Draconid Imperium, and that the Emperor was weakly failing to stand up to them. This put Alexandre in an impossible position, contending with contradictory constituencies with what little constitutional powers he possessed. An especially difficult blow came when Premier Furrak Harponis of the Drodo Empire was defeated in the 2803 election and replaced with arch-conservative candidate Fiihar Jivirik III, a populist who blamed France as the source of the Drodo Empire's mounting economic and social problems. In order to avoid repaying their debts to France, the Jivirik administration claimed that there was no legitimate successor to the French Sixth Republic, and thus the Drodo Empire owed no debt. Premier Jivirik then cut off as many ties as he could with French influence. Alexandre's attempts to open negotiations with the Drodo Empire would continue well into March, where they would result in the Franco-Drodo First City Summit.

War of Mirusian Coalition
"I respect military calculations, but in the realm of war as well as politics, screwing over one of your allies is unacceptable."
 * Treaty of Manticore

- In response to the Treaty of Manticore

In April of 2803, a league of Mirusian states launched the First War of Mirusian Coalition against the Xonexi Allies, invading the northern parts of Allied-held Former Dominatus Territories. The Draconis and TIAF territories in Mirus were overrun so quickly that the Board of Seven of Allied High Command decided to abandon the Mirus Galaxy altogether. The resolution, accepted by all members of the Board of Seven, was to surrender all Allied territory - including French Mirus - in return for peace with the Mirusian Coalition. Tactically, Alexandre was not included in the discussion by Lord Admiral Drevex, who feared the objections he could inspire in certain members of the Board of Seven. This marked a new low in Alexandre's inability to influence events, the last straw in a long line of injuries. Despite ferocious protest and resistance from Ballatay, the Emperor, the French Colonial Congress, and the French colonial public, the agreement was signed into law on April 29.

On May 3, Alexandre channeled French outrage over Manticore into a sweeping consolidation of power. From the balcony of the Congress building on Richelieu, he issued an impassioned denouncement of the Treaty of Manticore and went on to name the myriad of other problems that faced the French Colonial Empire in that moment. One by one, he announced a new initiative which would remedy those problems. He announced that he would withdraw the exhausted Orion League Remnant forces, as well as the overextended French navy, from Andromeda. He promoted Marshal Delacroix to Minister of Defense and assumed temporary command over the military in order to reshuffle the chain of command. He put veterans like Marshal Chartier and Cesterity Isordon in charge of the Grand Navy of the Empire, replacing the tepid officers which Delacroix had created. Formations like the French Andromedan Colonial Fleet and the Orion League Remnant were to be integrated into the Grand Navy of the Empire, serving as the core for new formations. Finally, the most important of his declarations was his complete and utter refusal to acknowledge the legitimacy of the Treaty of Manticore, and of the Mirusian claim on the Former Dominatus Territories. In effect, he intended to fight for France's right to retain its Mirusian territories.

For his insubordination, Alexandre was formally expelled from Allied High Command by Lord Admiral Drevex and ostracized from every major Xonexi organization. In response, Alexandre withdrew the Grand Navy of the Empire from Andromeda to his Mirusian holdings. There, with no legitimacy, foreign contacts, or alliances left, he would make his stand to ensure the continued viability and independence of the French state. While the situation looked dire at the beginning of May, events began to work in his favor. To his astonishment, he was joined on May 10 by Sylo I of Eldarisia who exiled himself from the Xonexi Allies in protest of France's treatment. Further, the TIAF Expeditionary Force under the command of Admiral Ariana Draccard "defected" and remained behind to fight for their own Mirusian territory. Emboldened by these developments, Alexandre ramped up his aggressive posture towards the Sovereign Mirusian Coalition and repeatedly denied its demands to withdraw from Mirus. Instead, he and Sylo lined up their forces along the Franco-Mirusian border and did everything they could to prepare for the inevitable conflict.

On June 1st, the Imperium of War suddenly broke from the Sovereign Mirusian Coalition and attacked its former allies. With his invasion underway and the Former Dominatus Territories descending into chaos, Imperator Caligustus sent a secret envoy to parlay with Alexandre. His offer was simple: the Imperium of War and the French Empire would collaborate to wipe out the Mirusian Coalition and partition the Former Dominatus Territories among themselves. It is unclear whether the offer was actually tempting to the French Emperor, though many close to him were convinced that he would take it. The envoy had been well received and left Alexandre convinced that he would take up Caligustus' offer.
 * War and the Covenant of Mirus

Whether the French Colonial Empire's delay was due to genuine hesitation or strategic calculation, it unequivocally made its move on June 2nd. Refusing to side with the Imperium of War, France went on to corner the Sovereign Mirusian Coalition and forced it to the negotiating table. Aboard France's first supercarrier, the Pax Franconica, Alexandre and his staff met with the likes of Exarch Zuki of the United Persan Descendants, High Lord Barda Clett of the Mendel Pact, and Emperor Gridlock of the Zarbania Powers. His purpose was simple: to recover Xonexi's Mirusian territories and to return Mirus to the status quo. Yet, an offer from the Waptoria Alliance of Species caught his attention. Rather than letting their position be dictated solely by self-interest, the Waptoria wanted the long-term stability of Mirus to be addressed by this peace deal. Theirs was being overcome a clamor of voices which could only see the Xonexi Allies and Mirusians as enemies.

While Alexandre turned down the Waptoria's provisions, he ordered the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to reevaluate its entire understanding of the Mirusian situation given new parameters and priorities. In the middle of negotiations, he brought on board just about every major figure in the French Colonial foreign policy world to seek their advice, many of whom would stay on as part of the Mirusian Diplomatic Bureau. One of the major faults of French Mirusian diplomacy was its long-held tacit assumption that the galaxy was an uncivilized backwater with no real politics of its own. When Alexandre returned to the negotiations, he sought to undo what his predecessors had done. He proposed the creation of a Mirusian galactic government which would create a set of democratic laws, standards, and enforcement mechanisms which would ensure that both galactics and extragalactics were kept in check, and that such a war would never happen again. The Xonexi Allies would give up their claim on ex-Tyranny space held by the natives and their allies before the Scramble of Mirus broke out, in exchange that the Coalition would hand back over the rest to the Xonexi. This exchange of promises became known as the Covenant of Mirus.

Given the Mirusian situation, this agreement was far more generous than they would have expected. To Alexandre's ally, King Sylo, it was an outrageous waste of an opportunity. The Eldarsian delegation had wanted to extricate from the members of the Sovereign Mirusian Coalition concessions of territory, reparations, and disarmament. His goal was to take revenge for the humiliating Eldarisian-Waptorian Conflict and to ensure that his enemies would not be capable of threatening Xonexi interests again. Sylo confronted the Emperor in a private audience, and the two would argue for hours. No issue that had simmered under the surface of the Franco-Eldarisian Alliance was left untouched. Finally, they came to an agreement. They discovered that they could agree on their goals for the Mirus Galaxy––lasting stability and security––but could not agree on how to get there. Furthermore, Sylo realized that they could not bring to bear two different policies in the same galaxy at the same time without sowing chaos, confusion, and instability. The Eldarisian King finally agreed to defer to the French Colonial Empire's Mirusian policy, so long as Eldarisian interests were kept close at heart. With that, France's position in Mirus was secure, at least for now. Alexandre could now turn his attention outwards to rebuilding the French Colonial Empire on the intergalactic stage.

Schism-era policy
In 2803, at the same time as he assumed the position of Emperor of the French Colonial Empire, Alexandre published a book called The Path to Peace. Ghost-written by his communications staff with the help of diplomatic, domestic, economic, and military advisers from all branches of the new French Colonial government, the book outlined the Empire's wartime policy in great detail and would serve as the basis for what would later be referred to as Valérism in France.

Most notably, the book contained Alexandre's ambitious plan to win the Great Xonexian Schism through France's reentry into the war. The fully-harnessed industrial might of French Mirus, he argued, would tip the scales of the conflict and propel France to great power status in the postwar period. Unlocking Mirus' potential and keeping the fledgeling empire afloat would require hard work and sacrifice on behalf of the other colonies in the form of full mobilization of the French Colonial population, wartime taxes, and innovative economics. Throughout, he was adamant that he would pursue the war to its end and would not let France shirk its responsibilities to its friends and allies.

The treatise also heavily explored Alexandre's foreign policy and the role he intended to play in it. Like the other sections of the book, it focused heavily on the ongoing war, but not in the way many expected. Alexandre dissented from many of his conservative allies by arguing in no uncertain terms that, "the ultimate goal of this war should not be 'victory,' the complete eradication of our enemies and the dismantlement of their empires. History has shown that such settlements lead to even more instability, conflict, and bloodshed. Instead, the ultimate goal of this war should be an equitable and lasting peace."
 * Foreign policy and "equitable peace"

Through lengthy argument and analysis, Alexandre fronted the concept of "equitable peace" as the cornerstone of his foreign policy. In the latter half of the book, he warned that once peace negotiations start, the victors of the Great Xonexian Schism will have the unique opportunity to shape the postwar political order before cementing it for the next few decades. Unlike other Allied leaders, Alexandre's vision of an equitable peace asserted intergalactic stability as the ultimate goal, stability which would be achieved through self-determination, the spreading of democracy, economic integration, the creation of new intergalactic institutions, and the creation of a fair, balanced, and representative galactic government for the Milky Way.

In his penultimate chapter called the "Impossibility of Peace," Alexandre argued that the peace process would not work without the involvement of the diplomatic arm of the Mou'Cyran Accords, which would have to be revived through what he called "active neutrality." He argued that passive neutrality, merely containing the war to Xonexi by not getting involved, would not be enough. The Mou'Cyran Accords would have to employ active neutrality and diplomatically engage with both sides of the conflict, pressuring them both to make peace.
 * Involvement of the Mou'Cyran Accords

Yet, that pressure could not be applied equally. He made the argument that the Xonexi Allies and the Delpha Coalition of Planets felt pressure in fundamentally different ways. Being democracies, all three of the Alcanti Triad powers were inherently resistant to going to war. In fact, democratic anti-war pressures had almost kept the Draconis Senate from approving Paragon Uriel's motion to go to war, and had forced the French Sixth Republic to agree to peace prematurely. On the other hand, the Delpha Coalition of Planets, an autocratic government with the largest and most effective surveillance state in the Gigaquadrant, was not subject to those internal pressures. Therefore, Alexandre concluded, external pressure would be necessary to bring it to the negotiating table instead of fighting well beyond the point that would be considered sane by democratic standards.

At the same time, once peace negotiations started, the Mou'Cyran Accords would also be needed to restrain the vengeful impulses of the victor and use their considerable influence to mediate an equitable peace and conclusively solve the problems that had started the war in the first place. It would be a messy process, Alexandre concluded, but peace would be entirely worth it in the end.

2794-2802
English: His Excellency, Alexandre Valéry, French Prime Minister

French: Son excellence, Alexandre Valéry, Premier ministre français

2803
English: His Excellency, Alexandre I, by the Will of the People, Emperor of the French

French: ''Son excellence, Alexandre Ier, par la volontée du peuple, Empereur des français

2804
English: His Excellency, Alexandre I, by the Will of the People and the Grace of the Nation, Emperor of the French and Lord of the Andromedan Light

French: Son excellence, Alexandre Ier, par la volontée du peuple et la grâce de la nation, Empereur des français et Seigneur de la Lumière d'Andromède

Appearances

 * To Leave a Life Behind (2738)
 * Equals (2801)
 * Fall of France (2802)
 * Nowhere was safe (2802)
 * Time to lead (2802)
 * Return (2803)

Relations
"I see we understand one another."
 * Allies


 * President Maxime of France - "She was a strong-headed and intelligent woman, and as good a leader as any." ~2803
 * Uriel XVI of the Draconid Imperium - "Paragon Uriel Ultanos has undermined everything we thought we knew about the Draconis. When the walls came crashing down around us, he didn't do the easy thing and leave us to our fate like his advisers were screaming at him to do. He stuck by us until the Sixth Republic fell, and I have every intention of returning the favor." ~2803
 * Sylo I of Eldarisia - "An Eldarisian chooses a sword brother once in his life, creating a bond that far exceeds friendship or kinship. It's a bond of absolute trust. We may not agree on a whole host of issues, but we have agreed to trust in the in each other's judgement, goals, and integrity. If that isn't a first step to bringing them back into the international order, I don't know what is." ~2803
 * - "He is not human, no, but the suggestion that he can't speak for us because of that is ludicrous. The position of Foreign Minister demands much from its occupants. Ballatay brings to the job energy, integrity, patience, and loyalty. If there is anyone who can do it better than he does, I invite him to step forward." ~2801
 * - "I stand behind the actions of my chief of staff. We served together, and there is nobody in this world I trust more." ~2797

"There is some potential between us."
 * Liked


 * Eruran Tekar of Farengeto - "The Farengeto are some of our most reliable and trusted allies. I am personally gratified by how far we've come together, and how far we're willing to go." ~2803
 * Kirvan Jivirik I of the March of Stekeveelia - "When I hear him speak, I'm reminded of a young Apollo, or a Collins. Believe me, I mean that as a compliment." ~2803

"Hm?"
 * Neutral


 * Ariana Draccard - "You're saying we lost track of her, again?" ~2803
 * Exarch Zuki - "Anan tells me she's the kind of leader who is truly a boon to her allies and a terror to her enemies, and it's a nightmare that we're stuck somewhere in the middle." ~2804

"My patience has limits for people like you."
 * Disliked


 * Fiihar Jivirik III of the Drodo Empire - ''"[He] is a proud man, and has every right to be." ~2803

"There are some in this world for whom I have plans."
 * Enemies


 * Wormulus II of the Delpha Coalition of Planets - "The universe of tomorrow has no place for tyrants and despots." ~2802
 * Leondias Drevex, Lord Admiral of the Draconid Imperium - "I respect military calculations, but in the realm of war as well as politics, screwing over one of your allies is unacceptable." ~2803
 * Imperator Caligustus of the Imperium of War - "I will not side with such a miserable wretch." ~2803

Notable pronouncements
"Highton. I’ll be perfectly frank, I hated the place; that’s something I realized the moment I left. I am almost grateful for the Foreign Legion’s long two-hour drills at strange hours of the morning, where sergeants labored over me for months to undo my 'higher education’. Without them, I would have entered the world complacent, disorganized, aimless, doomed to failure. I had no ambition. The Legion honed me into a weapon, taught me that no tank, starship, or missile is more dangerous than the human mind. A stray thought can destroy a life––a train of thought can destroy a civilization; I wield that kind of power with purpose and without mercy."

- Reflecting upon Highton University

"There is something which the Draconis understand that not many do: the difference between wealth and power. Wealth is the trade route which dries up after ten years; power is the empire that stands for millennia. They have earned their laurels, let them sit on them for a while longer."

- During a state visit to the Draconid Imperium in 2795

"It's never a good idea to back a predator against a wall with no means of escape. That's when they become desperate, and a desperate enemy is far more dangerous than a sane and cautious one. The trick is to threaten them with a stick in one hand while offering them a deal they can't refuse with the other, and they will do whatever you want."

- East African Civil War, 2796

"Shakespeare always had a particular gift with words. In one of his tragedies, Macbeth looks upon one of his adversaries and thinks to himself, 'That is a step on which I must fall down or else overleap, for in my way it lies.' That is exactly what I think whenever the letters, "D-C-P," cross my desk. They often come in the form of an act of disrespect here, blatant defiance there, and a general atmosphere of snot-nosed superiority: they have no regard for beings they consider lesser than them. But this––this insanity in the Quadrants is the last straw. Give me time, and I will make them regret their hubris."

- Upon finding out that the Delpha Coalition of Planets was forcefully gaining access to the French Quadrantia Trade Route without paying the toll, 2799

"Everywhere I look––in every corner of the Gigaquadrant––I see the same signs: hard times are ahead of us. Alliances are beginning to fracture, old rivalries are beginning to resurface, and the great tectonic plates that make up the political landscape of the universe are shifting. We might, in the near future, be forced by circumstance to turn on an ally or to wage war against someone we never would have thought of."

- To Marshal Chartier at the onset of the Neraida Invasion, 2800

"The ultimate goal of this war should not be 'victory,' the complete eradication of our enemies and the dismantlement of their empires. History has shown that such settlements lead to even more instability, conflict, and bloodshed. Instead, the ultimate goal of this war should be an equitable and lasting peace."

- The Path to Peace, 2803

Quotes
Add your own!

"There are kings, there are emperors, and there are presidents. Alexandre Valéry is above all of those. He is a man who has brought nothing but good luck on France, and his charisma I both fear and admire. I personally admire him, as his accomplishments are quite noteworthy, things I would have never expected from a human."

- Drakan Thel'Vimicelnes of the Draekar Remnant

"To be honest I cannot help but respect the man. He is trying to do what he believes is the right thing and holds himself to respectable moral standard while doing what is best for his people. However what is best for my people and what we consider right are going to clash with things as they are. I also question his choice with some of his allies."

- Exarch Zuki

Trivia

 * Alexandre's ascension as a monarch caused a change in naming convention. As a politician, he was referred to almost exclusively by his last name. After becoming Emperor, this page and others began referring to him by his first name, as befits European tradition.
 * Illustrations and scenes involving Alexandre are very kindly painted by Monet47. Thank you so much!