• We have updated our Community Code of Conduct. Please read through the new rules for the forum that are an integral part of Paradox Interactive’s User Agreement.
Renaud de Cartelège ("Le Préfet")
French politician, writer and Cordelier ideologist

Blanqui_zpse75fe79b.jpg


Date of Birth: December 29th, 1748 (42 years old)
Estate: Third
Religion: Catholic
Culture: Parisian

Bio: Renaud de Cartelège was born and raised in the Cordeliers district in Paris. Although highly educated, he chose to join the Parisian police force, eventually becoming chief of the Cordelier praefecture. In this capacity, Prefect De Cartelège was confronted with not only the impoverished neighbourhood, but also with revolutionary thinkers who would later style themselves, the “Cordeliers”. Impressed, he wrote several novels under the pseudonym “Le Préfet” (the Prefect), inspired by the inequity and harsh treatment he witnessed every day.
Prefect De Cartelège was often seen on the streets of his neighbourhood, and generally liked by its inhabitants. Although he was feared for his merciless handling of criminals and - some say - political opponents, the Prefect often turned a blind eye to those who criticised his superiors. In July 1789, this became all too apparent: he was fired for standing by and doing nothing while hundreds of Cordeliers stormed the Bastille.
Left without a job, Renaud de Cartelège turned to what he had always done best. He joined politics as a member of the Cordeliers.
 
((This is going to be interesting and very ahistorical unless more people join))
The distribution is actually surprisingly accurate for the time period. But rest assured, I'll be making things uncomfortable...
 
As the votes rolled in, Sous-Lieutenant Parént talked with some fellow officers in a boarding house near the Rhine.

Oui, Oui. I hear what you are saying Jacques, but that is not the issue. I have no issue with any of the parties that occupy our fair capital, as long as I continue to give a paycheck to my parents and can return to my land after serving in the army, but that is not why I voted for les Feuillants. What we need in this first government is stability ad moderation, to establish precedent on how to work our new nation. One even more free than the damned Anglais.

He stops to allow Jacques, a noted Monarchist, to speak

Non, non, non. You have too much faith in the ability of nobles. Deprived of their titles, they are now simply richer and better landed than us. I know your grandpére was Baron de Gouis, but romanticism cannot be allowed to affect our decision too badly. We need the military united behind the government and behind the Church. With the three pillars of France re-established, in the forms of the Church, the King and our Democracy, we can truly re-establish our dominance over the Allemagne et Anglais.

Vincent pounds the table hard with his cup, scaring a nearby server

That is it, support the military men, support the Church and God shall provide. Moderation for now, since it best serves us, les Feuillants. After the election, we shall see. Officers, united, Oui? Oui!

Cheers are heard within the Tavern, it was soon after that the Society of French Gentlemen, or "Le Société de Messieurs Français" was formed by Vincent Parént and some of his fellow officers
 
The people need rights, yet the king is given rights from god himself!
Monarchical alignment
His eminence Hugues Jean

((B-b-b-bold yourself son))
 
Name: Javert Valjean
Date of Birth: 21 july 1759 (32 years old)
Estate: Third
Religion: Catholic
Culture: French-Parisian
Biography: Born to poor parents in the streets of Paris he is involved in criminal acts like most of the youth of the poor districts, After being caught by an exceptional police officer (rare such polices were put in poor districts), his sentence would have been long and hard but in exchange for his freedom the police officer commanded him to be better for his district and for himself. moved for such trust and devotion Javert Changed that day, soon after he was working with the police as an informer and manage to get admitted to the Parisian police force. Moved by the poverty and suffering he knew well by first hand and his work in the police he got a decent education and enlightenment, disgusted by the Lafayette actions he manage to get elected to the Assambly by the many he had helped as much as he could and in there he will do change no matter what it takes.
 
Name: Javert Valjean
Date of Birth: 21 july 1759 (32 years old)
Estate: Second
Religion: Catholic
Culture: French-Parisian
Biography: Born to poor parents in the streets of Paris he is involved in criminal acts like most of the youth of the poor districts, After being caught by an exceptional police officer (rare such polices were put in poor districts), his sentence would have been long and hard but in exchange for his freedom the police officer commanded him to be better for his district and for himself. moved for such trust and devotion Javert Changed that day, soon after he was working with the police as an informer and manage to get admitted to the Parisian police force. Moved by the poverty and suffering he knew well by first hand and his work in the police he got a decent education and enlightenment, disgusted by the Lafayette actions he manage to get elected to the Assambly by the many he had helped as much as he could and in there he will do change no matter what it takes.

((The Second Estate is nobility, if I'm not mistaken. "Common folk" are the Third Estate.
Also, pick a faction!))

Ah, it's good to see a fellow trustworthy police officer in these halls. Have we met before, perhaps? In which district were you deployed?

- "Préfet" Renaud de Cartelège
 
The people have won their rights from the monarchy and deserve it, no more can the poor and the weak simply oppresed, Javert Valjean is Cordeliers
 
((The Second Estate is nobility, if I'm not mistaken. "Common folk" are the Third Estate.
Also, pick a faction!))

Ah, it's good to see a fellow trustworthy police officer in these halls. Have we met before, perhaps? In which district were you deployed?

- "Préfet" Renaud de Cartelège

((yah sorry corrected, my brain died for a sec and forgot what state was what))
 
Elections of September 1791:
The Feuillant Parliament


Having achieved more for the cause of French liberty in two years than the Ancien Régime had done in three centuries, the revolutionaries would have expected vindication. What they received was a rout. The elections of September 1791 marked the triumph of the moderates; the Feuillant union of the reformist Right and the temperate Left proved decisive. They received 222 delegates to the Assembly, more than double their nearest competitor, the Cordeliers, who received only 95. They were not the only ones riding the wave of counter-revolution: even the Monarchicals, deserted by the very King they sought to restore, managed to elect 61 delegates. The Right, a neglected minority in the Constituent Assembly, now accounted for over a quarter of the seats of its successor.

c6137c80c2d10b7be76e827a74345e10_zps9d241d42.jpg


Lord Densley-Blair had fled a life of luxury to represent the Feuillant cause

The composition of the Rightist leadership was as broad and contradictory as the bloc itself. Amongst the Feuillants there were Édouard-Alexandre Blair, the Welsh lordling turned revolutionary warrior; Vincent Parént, the sous-lieutenant of few words and many motives; the Baron d'Harfleur, looking about as comfortable amongst the democrats as he would in the Jacobin Club; and abbé Adolphe Beauchene, one of many clergymen who had at first embraced the Revolution but now regarded it warily. Even the King gave the Feuillants his blessing – much to the consternation of the eccentric Comte de Nogaret-Lefebvre and the inflexible Cardinal Hugues Jean, the duumvirate head of the Monarchical delegation, which remained as adamantly fixed to the old order as ever.

Armand_Augustin_Louis_de_Caulaincourt.jpg


The Comte de Nogaret-Lefebvre, full-time royalist and part-time purveyor of implausible invasion plans

But not everything had gone the way of the moderates and the monarchists. There was the eventuality that no one, the Feuillants or their enemies alike, had predicted: of the 745 seats in the Assembly, only 463 had been filled by the Parisian societies. They had all been blinded by metropolitan arrogance; they knew that Paris was theirs, and therefore thought that France was, too. But Paris was not France - at least, not yet. The Parisian societies may have affiliated across the Kingdom, but that still left dozens of cities and counties where no one knew what the word "Jacobin" meant. And they would have their say, as well. 282 seats in the Assembly were now occupied by these unaffiliated delegates. The Plain, as they came to be known, were a mystery. They were disorganised and shared no parties and no clubs; most were motivated by a general sympathy to the Revolution, but no discernible ideology or conviction. In short, they were an obstacle to the dominance that the Feuillants desired and an enigma to everyone else.

Blanqui_zpse75fe79b.jpg


"Le Préfet", the shadowy Cordelier and a leading delegate on the Left

And that was not all that stood in Feuillants' path. Deprived of their leading lights by the Self-Denying Ordinance, the Left had a new crop of demagogues. Most obstinate among them was André Bouchard, a Parisian atheist who railed against the noble and ecclesiastical establishments - and above all, their royal head. He was joined by Antoine Durand, another Parisian of similar persuasion, and Fernande Duveau, an enlightened Catholic republican. All of them belonged to the Jacobin Club, which was no longer the loudest mouthpiece of the Revolution. That honour fell to the Cordeliers, who, despite being officially suppressed following the Champs de Mars massacre, slipped into the Assembly under the guise of relative unknowns such as Renaud "Le Préfet" de Cartelège and Jacques Nazaire Aulard. The former had been a policeman under the old regime, before he abetted in the storming of the Bastille; the latter was an acolyte of Hébert, the polemical author of Le Père Duchesne. All of them were rough-and-tumble republicans, ready to match their speech with their fists. A smaller contingent of Socials – whose Caesarian philosophy of a plebeian dictatorship had gained traction - further swelled the republican ranks in the Assembly. Following the desertion of the moderates, this was to be the new face of the Left: nonconformist, confrontational and unyielding.

They were to demonstrate this by immediately attacking the legitimacy of the Feuillant majority. The 'compromise Constitution' had restricted the franchise to the propertied classes, instead of adopting the unqualified suffrage proposed by the radicals. Is it any wonder that the final product was in thrall to the King and his confederates? The defeated royalists had rigged the system to their advantage and were reaping the dividends; the people had been denied their rightful voice. And what were 'stability' and 'moderation' - the watchwords of the Feuillants - but codewords and euphemisms for the counter-revolution?

"It is no National Assembly," declaimed Marat, from the pages of L'Ami de Peuple, "It is a Feuillant parliament, prostituted to the will of the prince. The defenders of the Fatherland must crush these countless enemies of freedom."


-------------------------

Player Actions Needed:

The King must now appoint the Government. The Controller-General shall then formulate the budget (with numbers provided by myself) and the Ministers will present their plans for this year. The first general update will then follow.

Election Results

Monarchical: 61 seats
Feuillant: 222 seats
Jacobin: 67 seats
Cordeliers: 95 seats
Social: 18 seats
The Plain: 282 seats
 
Last edited:
((hey syriana, what about making an post that contains all the character names linked to their proficles so people can easily know who is who and for reference etc as the game progress?))
 
((Oooh, the Plain. Any ideas where the majority of these non-Parisans fare from?))
 
Most obstinate among them was André Bouchard, a Parisian atheist who railed against the noble and ecclesiastical establishments - and above all, their royal head
((Hey! My character take the Cult of the Supreme Being very seriously. Well, anyone else will likely call him an Atheist anyway but they are dirty enemies of the people, so they don't matter. :p))


This National Assembly is an absolute farce! How can this body claims to have any legitimacy when most of the French People couldn't even participate to the elections!?

Restricted suffrage is as good as no suffrage at all, and it is not a surprise that under this system the "moderate" Feuillants won so many seats! I feel that the Monarchists, in a desperate attempt to save their position, have helped the Feuillant in obtaining a fraudulent victory; and such feelings are only strengthen when I notice how the King himself supported the Feuillant cause during the elections.

But the People of France must not fear a counter-Revolution, for we Jacobins stand vigil against their enemies!

- André Bouchard
 
266px-Royal_Coat_of_Arms_of_France_%26_Navarre.svg.png
His Most Christian Majesty, Louis XVI by the grace of God, King of the French; is pleased that the National Assembly has managed to form itself in an atmosphere of order, stability, and moderation. After much consideration and in accordance with the Constitution, he hereby appoints the following cabinet:

First Minister: Édouard-Alexandre Blair - Feuillant
Lord Chancellor: Pierre Le Goff - Feuillant
Controller-General of Finances: René Leon - Feuillant
Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs: Jacques Nazaire Aulard - Cordelier
Secretary of State for War: Paul-Aurélien de St Sebastien, Baron d’Harfleur in pretense - Feuillant
Secretary of State of the Navy: Jacques de Nogaret-Lefebvre - Monarchical
Lieutenant-General of Police: Vincent Parént - Feuillant
Archbishop of Paris: Adolphe Beauchene - Feuillant

In addition, His Majesty wishes to cordially remind the new Assemblymen of their oath by the Constitution, namely to maintain with all their power the Constitution of the Kingdom decreed by the National Constituent Assembly in the years 1789, 1790, and 1791, to propose and to consent to nothing during the course of the legislature which might be injurious thereto, and in all matters to be faithful to the nation, to the law, and to the King. It is the fervent hope of His Majesty that France might prosper under the guidance of the National Assembly.

Par la grâce de Dieu, vivre libre ou mourir.

125px-Signature_of_Louis_XVI.svg.png
 
Last edited:
((Oooh, the Plain. Any ideas where the majority of these non-Parisans fare from?))
The Plain emanate mainly from the provincial towns of the French middlelands, such as Burgundy and the Loire valley. They are overwhelmingly from the Third Estate and pro-revolutionary, though they are malleable.

((hey syriana, what about making an post that contains all the character names linked to their proficles so people can easily know who is who and for reference etc as the game progress?))
Done! Tracking sheet for characters now on the first post.
 
((Hey! My character take the Cult of the Supreme Being very seriously. Well, anyone else will likely call him an Atheist anyway but they are dirty enemies of the people, so they don't matter. :p))


This National Assembly is an absolute farce! How can this body claims to have any legitimacy when most of the French People couldn't even participate to the elections!?

Restricted suffrage is as good as no suffrage at all, and it is not a surprise that under this system the "moderate" Feuillants won so many seats! I feel that the Monarchists, in a desperate attempt to save their position, have helped the Feuillant in obtaining a fraudulent victory; and such feelings are only strengthen when I notice how the King himself supported the Feuillant cause during the elections.

But the People of France must not fear a counter-Revolution, for we Jacobins stand vigil against their enemies!

- André Bouchard

Now, Monsieur Bouchard; you look surprised. Didn't we all know that this would happen, the very moment Robespierre and his comrades failed to handle the King? A fair, incorruptable state can never be a Monarchy, you are right - but this comes as no surprise.

As a testament to my own naïvety, though, I too was surprised. Throughout my life I have worked, lived and conversed not only with hard-working men, but also, in my capacity as a police officer, with thieves. Yes, some of whom picked my pockets as I looked away - yet none of them dared to blame and belittle me for it. These gentlemen, to my surprise... they do. After subjecting the common man to excruciating taxes and minimal wages, they add insult to injury by mocking the poor man, refusing him the right to vote. Two-thirds of the Estates exist only through appointments and birth "right"; the Third part elected only by the richest amongst us.

Monsieur Bouchard, I'm sure that like me, you have fought for the Revolution. It seems that our work is not done yet. If ancient institutions still hold more weight than the voice of thousands, then we have learned nothing from the Bastille. The will of the people cannot be denied. So, to those of you who have been refused the vote, I say: Hold on. Soon, we will vote. All of us will vote. And yes, we will fight for this if need be; for only through equality of all men can France truly become a nation of brothers.

- "Le Préfet" Renaud de Cartelège
 
Vincent, clad in his shiny new uniform, was stiff upon receiving his commendation. Obviously uncomfortable in the realm of the first and second estates, he was pale and quiet when presented to the King. Though he tried to hide it well, he nearly started uttering Hail Mary's when in the presence of the Archbishop. His age was also apparent, as he barely had hair on his face while surrounded by men twice or three times his age, who have been working in politics for as long as he has been alive. He originally did not understand why he was chosen to be the new Lieutenant-General of Police, but it dawned on him over time.

That one night in that Rhinish Tavern, when Le Société de Messieurs Français was created by him and some officers, it was a turning point. It became increasingly viewed as the proper social club to join as a member of the armed forces, in order to show support for both the revolution and the King. Beyond just Vincent, it became the chief instrument in the armed forces for the Feuillants.

Eventually, Vincent, even though he was a lowly sous-lieutenant, received recognition from Paris for this accomplishment. Therefore for his loyalty, his "noble character" and he suspected for his ability spread Le Société to the police force in an effort to better politically control it.

In the end it did not matter, as the Norman, with the French Rose proudly in his breast, took to his duties he prepared for the shitstorm politics held in store for his solid militarian beliefs.


art_nouveau_stylised_rose_round_stickers-rbf00b913e9404e1598d2563b4df1c406_v9waf_8byvr_324.jpg

The French Rose, symbol of Le Société de Messieurs Français
 

Attachments

  • art_nouveau_stylised_rose_round_stickers-rbf00b913e9404e1598d2563b4df1c406_v9waf_8byvr_324.jpg
    art_nouveau_stylised_rose_round_stickers-rbf00b913e9404e1598d2563b4df1c406_v9waf_8byvr_324.jpg
    24,9 KB · Views: 54
Last edited:
Now, Monsieur Bouchard; you look surprised. Didn't we all know that this would happen, the very moment Robespierre and his comrades failed to handle the King? A fair, incorruptable state can never be a Monarchy, you are right - but this comes as no surprise.

As a testament to my own naïvety, though, I too was surprised. Throughout my life I have worked, lived and conversed not only with hard-working men, but also, in my capacity as a police officer, with thieves. Yes, some of whom picked my pockets as I looked away - yet none of them dared to blame and belittle me for it. These gentlemen, to my surprise... they do. After subjecting the common man to excruciating taxes and minimal wages, they add insult to injury by mocking the poor man, refusing him the right to vote. Two-thirds of the Estates exist only through appointments and birth "right"; the Third part elected only by the richest amongst us.

Monsieur Bouchard, I'm sure that like me, you have fought for the Revolution. It seems that our work is not done yet. If ancient institutions still hold more weight than the voice of thousands, then we have learned nothing from the Bastille. The will of the people cannot be denied. So, to those of you who have been refused the vote, I say: Hold on. Soon, we will vote. All of us will vote. And yes, we will fight for this if need be; for only through equality of all men can France truly become a nation of brothers.

- "Le Préfet" Renaud de Cartelège
Hear hear!
Truer words were never spoken!

Indeed, many of these Feuillants talk as if the revolution is already over, as if it reached its objectives and now we simply need to fortify our conquests.
But how can the Revolution be even begun when much of the same third estate that we promised to free still lacks any kind of political significance? The third estate in the political order has been nothing and still is nothing, very little has truly changed, it almost seems that for these Feuillants the Revolution was only a mean to be elevated as the new aristocracy of France.

We must repeat with force that the Revolution is not over, no. Even, I say that the Revolution has yet to begun!

- André Bouchard
 
It is with great sadness that i observe what have transcribed in the national assembly, as my collegue "Le Préfet" Renaud de Cartelège and Monsieur Bouchard say that assambly had been arranged before hand by the creators of the national constitution to obtains this result favorable to the forces that oppress the poor people of Paris...no of every city and farm in France.

Maybe in my hard yet short life i should have seen this outcome happening but my heart was full of Patriotic fervor for my reborn nation and i believe many share my trouble that did not see this coming. A lesson is taught here though unless the Revolution is actually completed instead of being left half-way through by denying the vote to the Actual people of France then The nation and its people will never advance past oppression by the wealthy and the former nobility of the country.

Every french citizen deserve...no has as right to be hear and express his vote no matter how poor and from where they come, that's the collective will of the people and it will be obtained so the Revolution can be completed, the ideals of Liberté, égalité, fraternité, cannot be extinguished no matter how hard the ancient regime try!

Javert Valjean
 
Vincent quietly coughs

That is not quite correct. Indeed 3/8ths of the government is represented by the Third Estate. While it is woefully inadequate compared to the population, myself alongside Mssrs. Leon and De Goff occupy some of the most important aspects of government, including head of French Police and head of national finances.

Before my placement, I was a poor sous-lieutenant in the artillery, who sent money back to my mama, pére, and six brothers in order to support them. I am now head of all Cosmopolitan police, and if that isn't the definition of the Revolution, where a man can rise to the top regardless of birth, I do not what is.

And further arguments that say the Revolution is over are as well wrong. Myself, and I hope many of my Feuillant compatriots, instead converted the Revolution into a more stable and longlasting form. If we can achieve the Revolution through democracy, why must so many of my peers die for war?

I am willing to take further questions from the sitting members if they wis, but for now that is my piece.

Vincent readjusts his uniform and sits down, obviously slightly uncomfortable with the recent proceedings