Fiction:French Empire

"Liberty, Equality, Fraternity"

- Motto

The French Empire (French: Empire français) is a Gigaquadrantic hyperpower composed of the French Republic and other member states, territories, and greater influence with reach in the vast majority of the First Gigaquadrant's galaxies. Officially proclaimed after the liberation of humanity in 2806 in the final stages of the Great Xonexian Schism, the Empire went on to assume an expansive role at the heart of intergalactic affairs, especially within the Xonexi Cluster. Its leadership in such institutions as the Xonexi Board of Seven, the Alcanti Triad, the Grand Commonwealth of Sovereign States, the Pan-Andromedan Ecumene, GITO, the Covenant of Mirus, among many others, was critical to the restoration of peace, stability, and prosperity in the wake of terrible conflict.

The French Empire's structure is descended from that of the wartime Colonial Empire of 2803-2806 which declared independence from the metropole after its capitulation. The result is more a broad economic, military, political, and social alliance between the states and territories of the emerging Francophone world than a single unified country, a fact which continues to confuse many outsiders. In some form or another, the components of the Empire adhere to and are represented in the bicameral Imperial Parliament and have a say in the election of its first statesman, the Premier of the Empire. Also retained in the new French Constitution was the Emperor of the French, a hereditary office with little legal authority to which powers are voted as necessary and appropriate.

As one of the Gigaquadrant's most successful capitalist economies, France has often been seen as the heir to the economic strategies of its closest allies, the Draconid Imperium and Tybusenia. However, as the new millennium unfolds, it is becoming increasingly clear that the Triad approach to economic management is quickly being supplanted by an emergent French way. France's love affair with capitalism is much deeper than other cultures would even remotely be comfortable with, characterized by an even greater embrace of free trade, economic interdependence, flexible production, scarcity, pan-Gigaquadrantic markets, and the constant economic and social revolutions brought about by capitalism. The willingness and ability of French institutions, society, and politics to not only withstand rapid and contentious change, but to embrace it as progress has contributed to the baffling success of the chaotic, undirected, and undisciplined French model. The French economy today balances an enviable mix of unrivaled economic growth, dynamism, and stability under immense pressure.

Early history

 * Further reading: Early History

France finds its origins on Earth in a Germanic tribe which called itself the Franks. They rose in the wake of the collapse of the Roman Empire and set out to found a kingdom which would stand for centuries. France, in its many incarnations, was a strong nation surrounded by competitors, and often enemies, like the Spanish to the south, the English and British to the north, the Germans to the east, and the Austrians to the southeast. Its long history is riddled with conflict between it and these powers over the fate of Europe, France's armies and generals proving their competence again and again around the globe.

In times of peace, France was known as a beacon of the arts, culture, and philosophy, fielding such minds as Montesquieu, René Descartes, Jean de LaFontaine, Molière, among others. Though its power had faded by the turn of the twenty-first century after disheartening defeats during the Second World War and subsequent colonial wars, France remained as great nation, boasting the world's fifth largest economy and a strong political position within the European Union.

21st Century
The start of the century was marked by the September 11, 2001 attacks on America, which sparked a global war on terrorism into which France was drawn on multiple occasions. By the end of the century, the Earth had suffered terribly due to human abuses of the environment. A particular point of contention among nations was the scarcity of fossil fuels. As tensions threatened to boil over, Europe came together and began the formation of the European Republic. France was expected to join in, though it surprisingly did not comment on the motion as tensions rose within it between those that supported a united Europe and those that supported a united France. Eventually, France backed out of the European Union, which became the European Republic a few days later.

France largely stayed out of the war between the European Republic and the Scandinavian countries, though it faced great inner turmoil. Unrest threatened to boil over into full scale civil war between those who would have France support the Scandinavians, those who would want her to side with the Europeans, and those who wanted it to remain independent. Finally, as riots and counter-riots broke out in Paris, Parliament was torched and the French cabinet forced to flee the country.

Martial law was called in and the entire country put on lockdown until the end of the war. Armed resistance persisted especially through terrorist organizations like the France Libre, a splinter group from the Front National, and La Resistance. After the The Convention of 2099 (La Convention de 2099), The French Sixth Republic was instated on November 26, 2099.

22nd Century
France stood upon a shaky foundation entering the 22nd century. Its infrastructure was slow to recover from the turmoils of the Scandinavian War, and fossil fuels were becoming increasingly scarce globally. Though France got most of its energy from nuclear power plants and other sustainable power sources, they were hooked up to the European power grid which serviced European states which had not made as heavy an investment in sustainability.

Tensions between France and the European Republic arose when France threatened to withdraw from the power grid to keep up with energy demand. Though that never came to pass, an agreement was reached that rationed the energy France contributed to the grid, allowing it to make up the shortfall with a few adjustments.

In the mid 22nd century, World War III broke out and France became embroiled in the Balkans War alongside the European Republic. The French fleet participated in a number of engagements in the Pacific and Atlantic theaters.

23rd Century
By the mid-2200's, France was a small interstellar colonial power at first, settling several planets around Earth including the resource-rich siberian planet Persephonie in 2199, which became a source of conflict when the South American superstate, Roreinia, colonized it in 2210. As wars broke out between human powers over colonial possessions in the 2250's, France endeavored to remain uninvolved, though tensions on Persephonie between Roreinian and French colonists boiled over. The Roreinian colony on Persephonie was seized by French militia forces in 2260, precipitating the Franco-Roreinian Colonial War. Roreinia responded by seizing French Guiana back on Earth, an act which might have led to full scale terran war between the two countries had the international community not pressured France into backing off. Intent on reclaiming their colony, the Roreinian fleet set out towards the planet and were intercepted by the French Starfleet.
 * Human Colonial Wars

In the Battle of Persephonie, the Roreinian fleet decisively defeated the French with help from American reinforcements. Shortly after, the POTATO-Roreinian force was destroyed in orbit of Persephonie when they were caught in the explosion of three nuclear warheads fired by the French supercarrier Minerve. With the loss of its entire stellar fleet, Roreinia was forced to surrender and handed over a good portion of its interstellar colonies, doubling the size of the French colonial empire.

After two decades of war, humanity convened in Brussels to sign the Colonial Wars treaty in 2270. It divided the space around Earth among the human nations, guaranteeing their access to it in order to avoid territorial disputes like the ones which pervaded the colonial wars. France gave up a significant portion of its gains during the Colonial Wars, but was awarded a large section of space containing Ottoman, Roreinian, and European colonies. Most notably, the Ottoman deep space Siranian Province became an autonomous state within France.

To enforce these territorial changes and to provide a common voice for humanity, the floundering United Nations was disbanded and replaced with the empowered Orion League that same year.

In 2281, the French made first contact with the Vulcans, a rigidly logical people with whom they quickly grew close despite their differences. To the frustration of the French, the technologically advanced Vulcans treated them as children and repeatedly chastised humanity for being so fractured. Regardless, the French swallowed their pride and endeavored to build strong ties with them. Soon after, first contact was made with the cautious Andorians who wanted little to do with France due to its relationship with the Vulcans. Relations between Andoria and Vulcan had recently broken down, and the two were about to enter into a long period of cold war, an France was caught in the middle.
 * New Acquaintances

In 2299, the Andorians began to accept French overtures and assurances that they wanted no part in the conflict. Rapprochement with the Andorians led to worse relations with the Vulcans, though many officials within France had had enough of Vulcan contempt and believed that a relationship with Andoria would be more fruitful. As a friend to both races, France attempted to mediate increasingly hostile disputes between the two with very limited success and could barely keep itself from choosing sides. While the government followed a strict policy of neutrality when it came to the Andorian-Vulcan Cold War, there were many on Earth who were pressuring it to sway towards one side or the other.

Vulcan-Andorian War
In 2304, tensions between the Andorians and Vulcans finally boiled over as the Andorian imperial commandos stormed the Vulcan sanctuary of P'Jem which was located right on the edge of Andorian space, believing it to be a listening post designed to spy on them. What they found confirmed their suspicions, and after having given the monks time to evacuate, they leveled the monastery with an orbital bombardment.

What followed was a rapid breakdown in relations between Vulcan and Andoria. Having had enough, the Vulcan High Command carried out a pre-emptive strike against known staging points of the Andorian Imperial Guard. Under the cover of the ensuing chaos, an attack against Andoria was attempted in order to put an end to the war quickly, though it failed due to the timely intervention of an Andorian fleet.

As the fighting continued, France was approached by both the Vulcans and the Andorians who were trying to get it to join the war on their side. President Jean-Réne Caillaud teetered as the public fought over what course of action should be taken: Should France remain neutral, or should she pick a side? If so, which? Finally, Caillaud declared in an address to the National Assembly that, under his direction, France would remain strictly neutral in the Vulcan-Andorian conflict with no bias towards either side. To that end, he called on Parliament to repeal agreements and pieces of legislation which favored trade with one belligerent or the other until fighting had ceased. He then went on to propose a plan by which an end could be put to decades of conflict between Vulcan and Andoria through territorial changes, agreements of trust on both sides, and an alliance that would bind France, Andoria, and Vulcan together.

Through multiple rounds of talks with the leaders of Vulcan and Andoria, an armistice was agreed upon and a delegation from these two species were dragged to a table at the French Élysée Palace on Earth. Negotiations began well as the delegations went through Caillaud's proposal point by point, though there was a heavy air of mistrust between the two sides. By the third day, the talks had devolved into a battlefield of accusations and threats which spiraled out of control. Both sides stormed out of the room and the armistice was soon broken by an aggressive move made by a Vulcan fleet.

While the Vulcan and Andorian fleets fought themselves into a stalemate, an inactive Grox probe drifted into the space around Sol. It was discovered by an Andorian scout vessel and brought back to Andorian space, whereupon it was accidentally activated by the Andorian scientists who were examining it. It escaped and went on a rampage, destroying Andorian colonies left and right, utterly overpowering any attempt by the Andorian Imperial Guard to stop it. At first, the Vulcans took advantage of the disarray to press their advantage militarily, but then the probe crossed over into Vulcan space.
 * Grox Threat

Mediated again by the French, both sides accepted a ceasefire and combined forces to deal with the probe. Joined by the French Starfleet, they confronted it over a series of costly engagements until, finally, they managed to destroy it. This joint operation became the cornerstone for peace as negotiations began anew and agreements were reached to finally put an end to the fighting. With the help of the French, the wartorn sides began to rebuild. Two years later, France, Vulcan, and Andoria founded a three-way alliance which today remains one of the strongest France has ever forged.

Rise as a colonial power
The 2700's saw France's meteoric rise as a galactic superpower and the beginnings of its colonial empire. Its first extragalactic territories were an experiment in exploration and colonization as disparate social and economic groups left France in the 2730's to found unique colonies in Segmentum Draco of Andromeda, giving rise to the diverse and often contradictory cultures of French Andromeda.

France survived through such crises such as the War of Ages and the New Grox Wars, though its involvement as a member of the Orion League remain widely unrecognized by rest of the Gigaquadrant. Thanks to the enormous leaps in medical and genetic technology in the past centuries, the death rate in metropolitan French city-planets had fallen to nearly nothing. French humans had become immortal. This resulted in massive overpopulation and the size of the French territory increased at a speed which alarmed many of its neighbors.

In 2768, the French were attacked by extremists from the Kraal Province of the Greater Hal'Sk Empire, an event which triggered the short Kraal War in which France fought alongside the Hal'Sk monarchy to pacify the rebellious province. Though some tension existed on both sides, the French and Hal'Sk quickly grew close and formed an alliance which lasts to this day. After two decades of relative peace, the entirety of the Orion League rose to fight the Dominatus War in 2792. After participating in several campaigns in the Milky Way, the Orion League arrived in the Mirus Galaxy and fought alongside such powers as the Delpha Coalition of Planets, Draconid Imperium, and Tybusen Intergalactic Allied Federation in the brutal engagements that characterized the Mirus campaign. French commanders such as Jean-Baptiste Teindas and Lucian Chartier earned a reputation for competence and integrity among the anti-Dominatus coalition.
 * Dominatus War

When the fighting finally ceased in 2795, the French found themselves with a vast territory in the Godric Arm under their control. They consolidated these territories into the French Mirus Colonies and slowly repurposed the Tyranny's factories to produce French starships. French Mirus––isolated from the rest of the Gigaquadrant––soon eclipsed the Milky Way territories in terms of industrial power, becoming Paris' primary manufactory and the training ground of the French Starfleet.

France had made friends during the Dominatus War, and she intended to use them under the leadership of Laurene Maxime's administration. 2795 saw the signing of the Franco-Tybusen Accords, a treaty which granted the French access to the hyperspatial network of the Tybusen Intergalactic Allied Federation, allowing rapid travel between galaxies they would not have thought of visiting before. This led to renewed contact with French Andromeda and the foundation French Quadrantia in 2797 and French Bunsen in 2799.
 * Extragalactic colonization

Linked together by a network of foreign wormholes, trade routes, and treaties, this new French colonial empire grew in size and influence every year until France could speak on near-equal footing with other Gigaquadrantic powers.

Great Xonexian Schism
Yet, France's meteoric rise was not without problems. Paris' growing influence brought it into geopolitical conflict with the Milky Way's resident hyperpower, the Delpha Coalition of Planets, at a time when the DCP's policies were growing increasingly imperialistic. In 2799, the French Quadrantia Trade Route Crisis began the long downward spiral in relations that would eventually result in France's participation in the Alcanti Triad Agreement in 2800, a three-way alliance between it, the Draconid Imperium, and the TIAF against the DCP.
 * Antebellum

With the sudden signing of the Mou'Cyran Accords in 2801 and the sudden introduction of the threat such a large geopolitical entity posed, Paris began numerous diplomatic initiatives of its own. President Maxime began by hiring the self-styled master diplomat, the "Prince of Ballatay", who would very quickly become the mastermind behind France's extroverted intergalactic foreign policy. 2801 saw the forging of numerous successful alliances with such nations as the Mardvaeli Republic, the Katar Sector Alliance, and Eldarisia. At roughly the same time, France's participation in repelling the Neiraida Invasion of the Milky Way facilitated the creation of a non-binding alliance between it and the Allied Terran Republic. Perhaps the most impressive diplomatic victory was the signing of the Treaty of Galactica, a non-aggression pact with the Mou'Cyran Accords which ensured permanent peace between the emerging anti-DCP coalition and Mou'Cyran.

If peace in the Cyrandia Cluster was achieved, the same could not be said in the Xonexi. Repeated incidents between Triad-aligned nations and the DCP served to heighten tensions, especially a land-grab conflict in Mirus which only barely failed to escalate into a war. During that conflict, France managed to acquire large portions of the Drakdodominatus Tyranny's former territory, giving them access to more industrial output than the entire French Colonial Empire combined. Yet, such a threatening move had upset numerous local Mirusian powers which slowly put aside their differences built their own coalition in reaction to Xonexi influence.

The year 2802 would see a continued escalation of tensions in the Milky Way, resulting in fervent anti-DCP sentiment in many of Orion's Spur's human states. Fear of encirclement, foreign plots, and DCP authoritarianism are often blamed for causing the Orion War, where a French-led alliance of human states overpowered the pro-DCP government of the Kindred Coalition. Further escalation led to war with the Delpha Coalition of Planets.

In a proclamation that shook the Milky Way, Emperor Wormulus II unilaterally denounced the nations of the Orion League as rogue states and ordained their annexation. The Gigaquadrant held its breath to see if the humans would submit to the might of one of the Gigaquadrant's leading hyperpowers, but what followed would awe and dismay many observers. Rather than putting a definite end to the Orion War with one swift stroke, Wormulus' proclamation set into motion Xonexi Allies's vast diplomatic machine, triggering the secret Alcanti Triad treaty along with many, many others. Leaders from twenty-three different nations met on Paris to issue the Parisian Declaration in April of 2802, in which they unanimously declared war on the DCP, denouncing its acts as tyrannic, destabilizing, and incompatible with a civilized galaxy.
 * Battle for the Milky Way

The war would begin with a number of allied victories, including the successful capture of the DCP's territories in Mirus, rebukes of DCP offensives in the Scutum-Crux Arm, and the beginning of an allied offensive against the DCP's Orion Territories. However, as the war turned into a stalemate, the Allies found themselves severely outmatched on the DCP's own turf and were expelled from the galaxy by mid June. The Allies' catastrophic military failure in the Milky Way was coupled with a violent parliamentary in the French capital, sparked by widespread fear of a DCP occupation and placing the blame on President Laurene Maxime for bringing about the ruin of the nation. Maxime herself was killed by Parliamentarians during the coup. Many prominent members of her administration, including Prime Minister Valery, were forced into exile.

On June 22, President of the Senate Casimir Gérard ascended to the Presidency as next in line and immediately opened peace talks with the DCP. With few bargaining chips to play, Gérard placed the survival of the nation above all else and surrendered unconditionally to the DCP, agreeing to stand down its armed forces and to consider itself an occupied satellite state. France was placed under the authority of the Human Superstate, a DCP client state led by those human nations which had abstained from the war. Keeping the nation together during this time would prove to be one of the Gérard administration's greatest challenges. Initially, most of the French people were supportive of the Human Superstate and eager for the war to be over.
 * Surrender

Yet, even though there was popular and legislative consensus behind him, Gérard was unable to muster the administrative stability, infrastructure, and power to effectively administer the territory. This was especially true in the colonies, where pro-Xonexi elements dominated and continued to supply the allies with much needed materiel, volunteers, and refused to disarm. No ordinance from the President, Parliament, or the Human Superstate Unification Council was able to stop them, and all of these bodies lacked the projection power to enforce their will.

Over the remaining half of 2802, the war continued without French involvement. After the Fall of the Milky Way, peace talks were opened between the DCP and the Draconid Imperium. At the heart of these negotiations was the fat of the human states and questions of sovereignty over the galaxy. As both sides sought to incriminate the other, maneuvering not for the benefit of peace but to convince neutral observers of the righteousness of their cause, no agreement could be reached. By September, the war resumed with the DCP's invasion of the Andromeda Galaxy.
 * Founding of the French Colonial Empire

Relations with France's longtime ally, the Drodo Empire deteriorated rapidly due to the ascension of a rabidly anti-French government. Though the two powers shakily continued economic relations as they had prior to the Great Xonexian Schism, exchanging goods and capital which were essential to the functioning of their economies, their political and security relations soured to the point of rivalry. The primary theatre of competition was the Quadrants, with the Drodo scoring early body blows such as the annexation of a French protectorate and refusing to pay its wartime debt to France. The beleaguered French Republic's government was unable to adequately respond.

If the Girard administration had any authority over the French colonies prior to September 14, 2802, all of that was lost with the invasion of Andromeda. The French Andromedan Colonies and French Quadrantia ignored orders to break off formal relations with the Xonexi Allies and did nothing to stem the flow of supplies or volunteers to Allied nations. Possessing closer ties to the Draconis than the Metropole, French Andromeda's choice was an obvious one. French Andromedan politicians spoke openly about their responsibility to follow their own "Andromedan way," as opposed to remaining bound to the Metropole. President David Fauvre regularly coordinated with Xonexi leaders, initiated an impressive arms buildup, and intrigued in preparation for French Andromedan independence. On January 4, 2803, representatives from all of France's colonies met on Richelieu to proclaim the formation of a rival French state whose legitimacy was sealed with the appointment of former Prime Minister Alexandre Valéry to the symbolic office of Emperor of the French.

Little was as it seemed in the nascent French Colonial Empire. Real power over the imperial structure rested not with the Emperor, but with the Emergency Colonial Congress; not with it manifold representatives, but with French Andromeda as the Seat of the Empire; not with a sense consensus founded on French unity, but with a uniquely Andromedan style of pan-French nationalism. Furthermore, in declaring independence, the French colonies had become reliant on the Xonexi Alliance for their security and legitimacy, a fact which the military leadership of the Draconid Imperium used to milk concessions out of them. Given the French Colonial Empire's material, diplomatic, economic, and political weakness in 2803, it had in truth become a de facto client state of its supposed allies.


 * War of Mirusian Coalition
 * Further reading: First War
 * Further reading: Second War

In 2803, the Sovereign Mirusian Coalition, a group of native Mirusian states hostile to the Xonexian presence in Mirus, launched a surprise invasion of Xonexian holdings in the galaxy. The war was a disaster for the Xonexi Allies, beginning with the shattering of the Xonexian Mirusian Fleet and ending with the fall of Manticore's inexperienced garrison before Mirus' seasoned armies. When it became clear that the war was unwinnable without weakening the struggling Andromeda front, the Draconid military leadership sued for peace. It would be only after the major fortresses in northern Xonexi Mirus had fallen that the Mirusian states would gather around the negotiating table. But when the two sides finally met at Manticore, the Mirusians demanded that all of Xonexi's Mirusian holdings be ceded to them. Without consulting France, the Draconis agreed, and the Treaty of Manticore was signed.

Outraged, France withdrew from the Andromeda campaign and suffered the humiliation of being expelled from the Xonexi Allies. They were followed by the Eldarisian Empire, who left in protest. The French Colonial Empire's Grand Navy redeployed its forces to the Mirus galaxy and refused to recognize the Treaty of Manticore. Instead, the Empire fought the Mirusians again during the Second War of Mirusian Coalition and successfully reversed the treaty. It occupied the TIAF and Draconis Mirusian territories and used them as bargaining tools to regain entry to Xonexi High Command. French troops would continue to fight in Mirus against the Imperium of War until its defeat in 2806.

Chafing under the unforgiving rule of the Draconid military, the Allied command structure had evolved into something resembling a military dictatorship by the increasingly dire situation of the war. With incredible political and diplomatic skill, Emperor Alexandre stepped in to act as a counterweight to Draconis power in the Xonexi Board of Nine, providing consensus-based leadership where the Draconis had imposed their will on others. His Grand Navy, hardened by the trials of the war in Mirus, had become one of Xonexi's most effective fighting forces and gave him incredible leverage over the organization. Further, his effective and fair dealmaking with other Allied leaders allowed him to gradually assume leadership over the organization.
 * Andromeda Campaign

This period was also marked by a decline in Draconid power due to a brewing shadow war between factions of the Draconis nobility. France secretly threw its support behind Paragon Uriel Ultanos very early on.

France extended its colonial influence into the Borealis Galaxy in 2803 with the invention of colonial charter companies, private colonial ventures which were protected by the Empire's military and had free access to its markets.

France's return to the Andromeda Front proved decisive in reversing the gradual defeat of the Xonexi Allies. In 2804, Alexandre sealed an agreement with the Nomatari Sovereignty which would ensure their continued participation in the war. In 2805, the Pan-Andromedan Ecumene was brought to the brink of revolution against its Draconis and Radeon-led autocratic system. Due to Alexandre's timely denunciation of the Ecumene's government, his defense of liberal values, and coalition-building within the Andromedan Light, he became an avatar for the movement's revolutionary claims. With this incredible power, he was able to successfully negotiate key political changes with Clericarch Iovera which saved the Ecumene from disintegration and allowed it to intervene in the Great Xonexian Schism.

Politics and government
The French Empire is a complex imperial structure composed of many institutions, bringing under a single umbrella of sovereignty a multiplicity of territories, interests, cultures, and species. The Empire is strongly influenced by its history and past incarnations, inheriting a great deal from the French Colonial Empire. The most evident of these is its general structure, including a legislature and independent hereditary head of state (the Emperor), and a multi-tiered system of sovereignty for different territories in the Empire.

Head of State
Broadly speaking, the Empire is led by the Emperor of the French, the Empire's head of state and cultural leader with few constitutional powers. In line with the philosophy of Valérism, power is voted over to the Emperor depending on the situation, the level of trust that exists between the Emperor and the French nation, and the personal qualities of the Emperor. The position of Emperor is hereditary, and the legal powers currently vested in Alexandre I will return to the state once his son, Alexandre-Bonaparte de Valéry, ascends to the throne.

Premier of the Empire
Created in 2803 as part of the government of the French Colonial Empire, the position of the Premier of the Empire was initially not a constitutional office. It was an unofficial honor bestowed upon Representative Audric Davinion by Emperor Alexandre, a mark of esteem, trust, and delegated authority. Davinion was known as Alexandre's point of contact in the Emergency Colonial Congress and one of his close advisors, later joining his cabinet. When Davinion resigned from the Congress in order to be appointed Governor of Borealis, Alexandre appointed Representative Constance Lebel of Galactica to replace him. During these early years, the Premiers acted as dutiful surrogates for the Emperor and came to handle the day-to-day running of the Imperial Government. From 2805 on, Lebel's role grew from managing relations with Congress to coordinating an increasingly complex array of state and national institutions represented in the French cabinet. The position of Premier of the Empire was canonized into the Constitution of 2806 as the Head of Government, was formally named by the Emperor and approved by the National Assembly, recalling the structure of the French Republics.
 * History

In 2807, a radically new situation arose when Christian Marier, a conservative from the French Republic, took Alexandre's Parti Valériste by storm. Leading a movement of pro-normalcy statesmen and elected officials, Marier sought to rein the French wartime state, scale back French commitments abroad, and restore democratic oversight at home. Marier gained control of the party platform and transformed it in its own image. In the ensuing hotly contested elections, Alexandre went on to win the Presidency of the French Republic while Marier's Republican faction won more seats in the Imperial Parliament, resulting in an awkward balance of power between Valérists and Republicans. Negotiations ensued for the formation of a coherent government, resulting in the appointment of Christian Marier and the creation of a compromise cabinet representative of the different factions of the Republican Party. From 2807 onward, Premier Christian Marier oversaw the Marier Government, also referred to as the 'Normalcy Government,' which governed the French Empire with a prudent and sometimes schizophrenic, oft-dysfunctional character. The Premier of the Empire's formal responsibilities and powers are distinctly inspired by the Prime Ministers of the French systems. As the head of the French government, he is a part-legislative, part-executive officer who is appointed by the Emperor and recognized by the Imperial Parliament. There are no requirements that he should be a sitting member of parliament, though it is thought that he can best fulfill his role if he possesses legislative connections.
 * Powers

The Premier acts as a central coordinator for the different branches, ministries, and officers of the government. He leads the cabinet in the stead of the Emperor, appoints its members, and can create, dissolve, or change the makeup of the cabinet at any time. Depending on the political situation and the strength of the Emperor, the Premier may act as an agent of the Emperor or in his own capacity. As a result, the Premier is seen as a democratic counterbalance to the Emperor's executive power, as the Emperor needs to command a majority in Parliament in order to exercise executive power through the Premier. 
 * List of Premiers

Legislature
The body that possesses constitutional authority over the Empire and its territories is the bicameral Imperial Parliament, modeled after that of the French Republics. This elected body is composed of two bodies, the National Assembly whose representatives are allocated by universal suffrage to the people of each territory based on population, and the Senate, whose representatives are equally distributed and indirectly chosen by colonial governments. While the Imperial Parliament is empowered by the 2806 Constitution to intervene in inter-Imperial affairs, to conduct foreign affairs, to facilitate trade, and so on, significant formal and informal obstacles exist to keep it from infringing upon the sovereignty of its territories.

Judiciary
Finally, an Imperial Judiciary was created by the Constitution of 2806 which serves as the highest court of the nation. Citizens of any French territory may appeal to higher courts in the Empire, whose judges are appointed by different means depending on the court. In every case, a complex web of appointments and offices attempts to maintain the balance of power within the Imperial Judiciary in order to keep any one member state of the French Empire from gaining dominance over French legal canon on the imperial level. The Empire's judiciary is the site of constant and unrelenting battles over the codification of French law over all of the Empire's territories as lawyers and judges attempt to reconcile the customs, traditions, and laws of each territory in a single workable legal tradition which is always in flux.

Overview
As one of the Gigaquadrant's hyperpowers, the French Empire maintains the potential for sizable military projection to each of the Gigaquadrant's galaxies. With its vast resources, the Grand Navy of the Empire employs a command of space doctrine which is tooled towards the maintaining of total naval control over enormous tracts of non-territorial space within a region of conflict. By securing naval dominance over the spaces between territories, spanning hundreds of thousands of lightyears, the Navy allows French and allied fleets and convoys to operate without restriction, whereas opponents are forced to stay in port to avoid destruction. It also enables the free use of offensive operations against an opposing territory at great distance, whether through airpower, hyperspatial bombardment, or invasion. The French Navy therefore employs ships which have a smaller profile on average, are tooled to fight and operate over great distances, and places a great emphasis on the ability of strike craft carriers to bring force to bear over tens of thousands of lightyears.

Thanks to its fleet of five intergalactic supercarriers, two of which are in active service, the Grand Navy of the Empire can be organized into two supercarrier battlegroups with the ability to project power to other galaxies and clusters without the need for extensive supply lines. Its four remaining supercarriers are mothballed in secure locations, ready to be brought out in response to escalations in of French military deployments.

The Grand Navy of the Empire consists the Empire's armed forces, bringing together into a structured chain of command naval, army, strike, and deterrence components. The Navy answers first to the Grand Marshal of the Empire, a title currently held by the Emperor, Alexande I, and second to the Imperial Parliament which appoints him. French naval doctrine on strategic and tactical levels places great emphasis on hyperspatial warfare––the waging of war over great distance in hyperspace––and on expeditionary warfare. Strike craft carriers loom large over French tactical thinking and can be found at the heart of French deployments, whether in the form of light support carriers or massive two-kilometer long battle-carriers, also termed "battlestars," bringing to bear fleets of thousands of angelfire-carrying strike craft as well as more conventional assets for planetary combat. All other French combat ships have tended to shrink in size over time and act in support of French carrier groups either in escort, screening, artillery, or missile combat roles to meet the demands of hyperspatial warfare. The Grand Navy has changed and adapted in response to changes in the French Empire's political and strategic situation over the two decades since the Great Xonexian Schism. With no major rivals to face and a public eager to enjoy the dividends of peace, the enormous wartime Grand Navy was cut down to a small peacetime force of professional soldiers aided by some of the best military technology in the Gigaquadrant. The Navy's capital fleet was similarly cut down, though maintained a sizable enough force to balance against potential rivals in the four corners of the universe. From 2807 to 2816, the awaited challenges to French power failed to materialize, leading to further cuts in defense spending and the adoption of a relaxed defense posture. As a cost-saving measure for non-deployed troops, personnel were often allowed to return home and hold day jobs while receiving half of their military salary, large scale military exercises were rarely held, and many types of military investment and development ceased. Small-scale crises such as the Commonwealth Civil War and Borealum Crisis in 2810, the Hutter Incursion Conflict in 2812, among others, seemed to validate this minimalist military practice. Precise uses small naval and air forces in concert with French allies were more than sufficient to keep the peace and maintain French interests during that time.
 * Recent history

However, in 2816, the French Empire was blindsided by a series of military and political events which shook confidence in France's security. A crisis in Mirus resulted in a humiliating display of military incompetence. In the Quadrants, Rambo Nation adopted a hostile posture towards France and its allies in the wake of attempts to resolve the Gorge Crisis. Public opinion on military funding and security issues reversed overnight. The Baako government was accused of complacency and minimalism and was strongly pressured to take stronger and more decisive stances abroad. The French military was revived as an extroverted tool of power and received its first funding increases since 2807. Cost-saving policies were immediately reversed and a great flurry of activity attempted to shake the atrophy of ten years of budget strangulation. In 2817, the Grand Navy held its first major operations on a grand scale, deploying to the Mirus Galaxy for exercises which would last six months. The exercises served as a stress-test for the ability of its various components to operate as a cohesive fighting force, and provided training for a new generation of French servicemen who had not seen a major war.

The Grand Navy would steadily expand, reorganize, and reform in preparation to face new military and political rivals in the 2820's and 2830's.

Strategic forces
Aside from conventional military power, France has also been developing a flexible arsenal of strategic weapons of varying degrees of lethality, precision, and impact. With public tolerance for military investment and casualties on the decline in the early 2810's, military experts pointed to doctrines of strategic deterrence to fill the gaps left by deficits in conventional military resources and the willingness to develop and use them. As explained in the 2810 White Paper on Defence and National Security, this pivot was to be executed through reforms in existing French airpower and hyperspatial weapons of mass destruction.

The 2810 White Paper posited that "it [the reforms of France's strategic arsenal] will be conducted with an eye on future expansions, ensuring that the arsenal can be quickly and seamlessly augmented in response to changing political and military conditions." With the drastic increases in military spending starting in 2816, various factions formed within the French military establishment which disagreed on how that spending should be allocated. Each faction possessed a particular vision of French military doctrine and sought to shape it in that image. A significant group of theorists and military leaders—a great many of them operating in the Quadrants—saw an expansion in offensive strategic forces as the answer to France's security problems and successfully lobbied for great expansions and further developments in France's strategic arsenal.

The primary aim of the Grand Navy's strategic arsenal is deterrence, the maintenance of a set of tools capable of instant and proportional retaliation against an attack on French soil, interests, or allies in the hope of dissuading an adversary from carrying out such an attack. Previous incarnations of French strike doctrine from the 2770's to the 2800's focused heavily on the tactical role of airpower, the ability of strike craft to support combat troops and ships on the battlefield. The design of the Super Mirage 3 – France's primary bomber during that period – clearly reflected this orientation towards tactical bombing. The Super Mirage was relatively small, agile, fast, short-ranged, and versatile hyperspatial strike craft capable of carrying light payloads, suited to the demands of battlefield bombing but not the hefty payloads and long distances involved in attacking logistics or industry far behind enemy lines. It was still occasionally used for that purpose – especially during the final year of the Great Xonexian Schism – but there was never a great emphasis on it. Similarly, France's air-to-air fighters, epitomized in the Mirage Roi and Torrent, were meant primarily to assert aerial superiority within a battlespace and only secondarily over a broad strategic theatre.
 * Airpower

This began to change with the 2810 military reforms, when French airpower doctrine experienced a serious overhaul. Whereas previously fighter and bomber wings were only embedded within pre-existing naval and army corps, dedicated aerial corps and regional air commands were created to coordinate air forces in operations over large areas and enable dedicated strategic bombing campaigns. In terms of equipment, the BS-100C5, BS-100AF1C branches of Super Mirages were split into variants with divergent upgrade schedules to gradually tool them to strategic or tactical roles. A new dedicated strategic bomber project – under consideration since 2808 – was accelerated, and the resulting BS-101 dedicated strategic bomber entered production in late 2810, having attained a range of 25,000 light years in testing. Finally, the C-12 Super Torrent was revived and many were returned to service to act as long-range escort fighters to the BS-101.

The result of these reforms was a significant evolution in French airpower and the gradual buildup of a strategic strike craft fleet meant to deliver conventional bombs, kinetic rods, hyperspatial missiles, and weapons of mass destruction to distant targets. In a time of tight military budgets and meek public support for military investment, this strike craft fleet is intended to give French policymakers in the future flexible retaliatory and pre-emptive options which do not involve deploying combat troops.

Order of Battle

 * It is possible to hover over individual symbols to see what they represent.

Xonexi Unified Command (XCOM)  Marshal Quincy Paré - Paris
 * FIS Six stars.png Métropole
 * Grand Navy of the Empire black.png FIS Corps d'Armee.png FIS Corps d'Armee.png FIS Corps d'Armee.png FIS Air Command.png FIS Air Command.png FIS Strategic Strike Corps.png FIS Transport Corps.png FIS Transport Corps.png FIS Supercarrier.png  Blank Space.png FIS Supercarrier.png FIS Supercarrier.png
 * Flag of France.png FIS Corps d'Armee.png FIS Air Command.png


 * FIS Capital Fleet.png Grand Fleet of the Milky Way
 * Grand Navy of the Empire black.png FIS line corps.png FIS line corps.png FIS line corps.png FIS Logistic Corps.png


 * FIS Naval Guard.png Milky Way East Naval Guard
 * Flag of France.png FIS Power Projection Fleet.png


 * FIS Six stars.png Katar
 * Grand Navy of the Empire black.png FIS Air Command.png FIS Strategic Strike Corps.png FIS void corps.png FIS Military Station.png FIS Fortified Planet.png
 * Flag of the Confederation of Lower Katar.png FIS Corps d'Armee.png FIS Air Command.png
 * FIS Six stars.png Commonwealth Home Command (Andromeda)
 * Flag of the Commonwealth of French Andromeda.png FIS Corps d'Armee.png FIS Corps d'Armee.png FIS Corps d'Armee.png FIS Air Command.png FIS void corps.png FIS Transport Corps.png FIS Transport Corps.png
 * FIS Capital Fleet.png Grand Colonial Fleet (Andromeda)
 * Flag of the Commonwealth of French Andromeda.png FIS line corps.png FIS line corps.png FIS Power Projection Fleet.png FIS Marine Army.png
 * FIS Naval Guard.png Intergalactic Route A (Milky Way <-> Andromeda)
 * Grand Navy of the Empire black.png FIS Power Projection Fleet.png
 * Flag of the Commonwealth of French Andromeda.png FIS Power Projection Fleet.png FIS Logistic Corps.png
 * FIS Six stars.png Bourdelles-de-Bunsen
 * French Bunsen Colonies.png FIS National Guard.png

Intercluster Route Command (INTRCOM) Grand Admiral Faustin Allain - Paris
 * FIS Naval Guard.png Intercluster Route M (Milky Way <-> Mirus)
 * Grand Navy of the Empire black.png FIS Power Projection Fleet.png FIS Logistic Corps.png
 * FIS Naval Guard.png Intergalactic Route B (Mirus <-> Borealis)
 * Grand Navy of the Empire black.png FIS Power Projection Fleet.png FIS Logistic Corps.png

Quadrantia Command (QUADCOM) Marshal Auguste Kent - Galactica
 * FIS Capital Fleet.png Unified Quadrantian Capital Fleet (UQCF)
 * Grand Navy of the Empire black.png FIS line corps.png
 * Flag of the Republic of Galactica.png FIS line corps.png FIS Power Projection Fleet.png FIS Marine Army.png FIS Marine Army.png FIS Logistic Corps.png
 * FIS Six stars.png Galactican Territorial Command
 * Flag of the Republic of Galactica.png FIS Corps d'Armee.png FIS Corps d'Armee.png FIS Air Command.png FIS Military Station.png FIS Military Station.png FIS Military Station.png FIS Military Station.png FIS Military Station.png FIS Military Station.png Blank Space.png FIS Military Station.png FIS Fortified Planet.png
 * FIS special strategic group.png Galactican Special Strategic Command
 * Grand Navy of the Empire black.png FIS void corps.png FIS Strategic Strike Corps.png FIS Strategic Strike Corps.png
 * Flag of the Republic of Galactica.png FIS void corps.png FIS Air Command.png FIS Strategic Strike Corps.png FIS Strategic Strike Corps.png
 * FIS Six stars.png Gran Colombia Home Guard
 * Roreinia Quadrants Tricolour-3.png FIS Corps d'Armee.png FIS National Guard.png FIS National Guard.png FIS Air Command.png
 * FIS Six stars.png Quadrantian Route Command
 * Flag of the Republic of Galactica.png FIS Power Projection Fleet.png FIS Logistic Corps.png FIS Military Station.png FIS Military Station.png FIS Military Station.png
 * FIS Expeditionary force.png Rapid Intervention Force (RIF)  READY STATIONED ON PARIS
 * Grand Navy of the Empire black.png FIS Marine Corps.png FIS Marine Corps.png FIS Air Command.png

Mirus Command (MIRCOM) Marshal Franc de Guise - Teindas
 * FIS Capital Fleet.png Godrine Capital Fleet
 * Grand Navy of the Empire black.png FIS line corps.png FIS line corps.png
 * FIS Capital Fleet.png Baako Capital Fleet
 * Grand Navy of the Empire black.png FIS line corps.png FIS void corps.png FIS Logistic Corps.png
 * Flag of the Commonwealth of French Andromeda.png FIS line corps.png
 * FIS Naval Guard.png Mirusian Naval Guard
 * Grand Navy of the Empire black.png FIS Power Projection Fleet.png
 * FIS Six stars.png Godrine-Bélances
 * Grand Navy of the Empire black.png FIS Corps d'Armee.png FIS Corps d'Armee.png FIS Air Command.png FIS Air Command.png FIS Transport Corps.png FIS Transport Corps.png FIS Military Station.png FIS Military Station.png FIS Military Station.png Blank Space.png FIS Military Station.png FIS Military Station.png FIS Fortified Planet.png
 * French Mirus Colonies.png FIS Corps d'Armee.png FIS National Guard.png
 * French Mirus Colonies.png FIS National Guard.png
 * FIS Six stars.png Baako-Thanates
 * Grand Navy of the Empire black.png FIS Air Command.png FIS Military Station.png FIS Military Station.png FIS Fortified Planet.png
 * French Mirus Colonies.png FIS National Guard.png
 * French Mirus Colonies.png FIS National Guard.png
 * FIS Six stars.png Frashoereti
 * Grand Navy of the Empire black.png FIS Air Command.png FIS Military Station.png FIS Military Station.png
 * French Mirus Colonies.png FIS National Guard.png
 * FIS Six stars.png Menento
 * Grand Navy of the Empire black.png FIS Corps d'Armee.png FIS Air Command.png FIS Logistic Corps.png FIS Fortified Planet.png

Borealis Command (BORCOM) Marshal Guillaume Gamelin - Catelet
 * FIS Six stars.png Borealis East
 * Grand Navy of the Empire black.png FIS Air Command.png
 * Flag of the Grand Commonwealth of Borealis (2806).png FIS Corps d'Armee.png FIS National Guard.png FIS National Guard.png FIS Power Projection Fleet.png FIS Fortified Planet.png
 * FIS Six stars.png Borealis West
 * Flag of Outer Ottzello Trading Company.png FIS National Guard.png FIS Power Projection Fleet.png FIS Marine Army.png FIS Marine Army.png FIS Fortified Planet.png
 * FIS Six stars.png Ottzello
 * Grand Navy of the Empire black.png FIS Power Projection Fleet.png FIS Corps d'Armee.png FIS Air Command.png FIS Logistic Corps.png
 * Flag of Alexandrie-Sur-Ozelle.png FIS National Guard.png FIS Air Command.png

Strategic Deployment Command (STRAT-COM)  Marshal Guy Lachapelle - Paris
 * [[File:FIS Supercarrier Battlegroup.png]] La Nation Supercarrier Battle Group RESERVE STATIONED IN THE MILKY WAY  Grand Admiral Marie Allain
 * Grand Navy of the Empire black.png FIS Supercarrier.png
 * [[File:FIS Supercarrier Battlegroup.png]] Maxime Supercarrier Battle Group RESERVE STATIONED IN THE MILKY WAY  Grand Admiral Bruno Bonsaint
 * Grand Navy of the Empire black.png FIS Supercarrier.png

Territory
As a result of the empire's complex history, astrography, and diversity, territorial entities have very different relationships with the imperial administration. Some, like the Commonwealth of French Andromeda, are endowed with sweeping sovereignty and act more like independent states than colonies. Others, like the administrations of various territories in French Mirus, are appointed and regulated by the Imperial Parliament. The constitution of the French Empire makes further distinctions between territories to which the Constitution and the principles of French law applies, and to those that are exempted from it. From these differences, four categories of territories emerge: States, Extragalactic territories, Free Cities, and Charter territories.

Key relationships


Alliances and commitments
Guaranteed by states who have unilaterally committed to defending us if we are attacked ↑ Kicathian Republic ↑ Delpha Coalition of Planets 