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Monsieur Parént's words ring true! The People of France have spoken, and with them I stand as a compatriot in defense of the Revolution. In my capacity as Lord Chancellor, the Judiciary will work to strengthen the popular movement, not stifle it with royalist suppression, bringing those vile autocrats and counter-revolutionaries to swift, fair Justice.

Vive la France!​

- Lord Chancellor Per Le Goff
 
Upon hearing of the coup, René hurried to his small apartment. When the 'officials' broke through the door the next morning, René was found hanging from his bootstraps. On a scrap of paper was found his final statement, "Abandoned by the people, criminalised by a coup. Thus dies the Revolution, thus dies France."

Upon hearing the news of the death of René Vincent sighs

Shame, he was going to live.

Turning his attention to directing the members of Police and the National Guard, Vincent continues on his path to Revolutionary Glory
 
Coup of 7 October:
Across the Seine


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From the very outset, Vincent Parént had always maintained that he cared nothing for politics. His officer colleagues all recalled that, whenever the revolutionary situation would arise in conversation (as it always did, in those hopeful early days), he would observe a steadfast neutrality. According to Lieutenant Parént, it didn't matter who controlled the purse strings, as long as the purse was full. He fought for nothing but France and the King's écu - what else was there? Even when he aligned himself with the Feuillants, he did so only to create a "better and united France". In return, he was rewarded with power and responsibility, with the rank of Sub-Lieutenant and the Lieutenant-Generalship of France no less. He enjoyed the King's trust and the First Minister's friendship. Both exhaled in relief when Parént bested some Cordelier criminal to assume command of the National Guard; no doubt they assumed that he would soon bring the rebels to rights and restore order to the capital. In hindsight, his superiors should have recalled that adage of Shakespeare: the lady who doth protest too much.

In the end, it had all been a deception. Parént had not just fooled his cabinet colleagues - at least, those who he had not made complicit - and his beloved Monarch; he had fooled France. The radicals had assumed from his uncompromising stance towards dissent that he was merely a reactionary tool of the conservative Assembly. They must have almost been as aghast as the Feuillants when, on the morning of 7 October, the Société de Messieurs Français announced the Government incapable and declared that the National Guard, far from shielding the Feuillant ministry from the popular wrath, would be marching against the former on behalf of the latter. Parént's puppet club had not been the mere patriotic talking-shop its insipid title suggested; rather, it had been a revolutionary society sitting at the heart of government, spreading its tentacles across the very foundations of the State. The Police, the Chancellery, the National Guard, the Army - all had been compromised. And now, at his word, they were to turn their bayonets against the Government.

The Society's declaration promised the abolition of the Assembly, the detention of the Government, the proscription of the Club Monarchique and the prosecution of all alleged royalists. "Viva la Revolution, Viva la France!" it concluded. The order of priority was telling.


-------------------------
Player Actions Needed:

Vincent Parént has declared a coup against the Government.

The Government should make preparations for its defence. The conspirators should make preparations for the success of the coup.

If you are a minister or the King, you must declare your allegiance:

For the Government!
For the Revolution!


All other characters should also declare their allegiance (but not in bold) to determine the popularity of the coup.
 
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Name: Francois Joseph-Marie Richard
Date of Birth: 4 October 1751
Estate: Third
Religion: Devoutly Catholic
Culture: Poitevin
Biography: A recently elected deputy from the Departement of the Vendee, he replaced his brother in law, Louis-Marie Chretien, a member of the First Estate who lost his seat for refusing to swear the Civic Oath as long as the Civil Constitution existed. By background, he is a lawyer, having studied on a scholarship at the Lycee Louis-le-Grand. He is a monarchical of sorts, but is at this point in time more concerned with preserving the rights of the Church against the Civil Constitution, and reaching a satisfactory resolution of the church question that leaves intact the authority of the Holy Father over the French Church.
 
Naturally, given my objections to the anticlerical character of this coup, I must pick the best of two bad alternatives and declare I am

For the Government.

M. Richard, Deputy from the Vendee.

[Monarchical]
 
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Naturally, given my objections to the anticlerical character of this coup, I must pick the best of two bad alternatives and declare I am

For the Government.

M. Richard, Deputy from the Vendee.

Anti-Clerical? In what nature is Le Société de Messieurs Français anti-clerical? In what matter is the establishment of democracy anti-clerical? In what way is establishing the defense of the Church from the Government show anti-clerical attitudes?

This Revolution is not anti-clerical, this Revolution is for France and the establishment of a true Democracy!
 
Monsieur Richard,

I must say that this Revolution is scarcely anti-clerical, for were it, I would be as ardent in my opposition as well. As a faithful Catholic man, the sancitity of the Church is my utmost concern, so fear not.

For the Revolution!
 
The Private Home of Antoine Durand ~ Club de Phrygian Meeting

Already Cordeliers was howling for revolution, news of the National Guard's and Parisian uprising against the Monarchy had reached this quarter in the afternoon. Now as sunset burned toward night the Phrygian Guard, the militant arm of the small but determined Club de Phrygian came together to organize their forces. Antoine Durand was a well known firebrand of the Revolution in Cordeliers, he was from a wealthy middle class family who were popular with commoners and the intellectuals alike in the Quarter. His lieutenants gathered around a map of Paris obtained by a police officer sympathetic with the revolutionaries.

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Phrygians To Arms!

Quite a large crowd of Parisians and Corderliers stood outside awaiting the Durandist declaration of revolutionary objectives and for their support of the current uprising. Food had been dispensed for free and wine was flowing freely stolen from a nearby aristocrats private stock. They all wore the phrygian and sang revolutionary and patriotic songs toasting to the end of tyranny. In the midst the celebration a call for silence came and the entire city block went quiet.

A speaker for the Durandist camp came out onto the balcony of their leader's house.

"I, Antoine Durand along with you paladins of liberty declare its full support for Monsieur Parent's uprising! *the crowd cheers for a bit*. In the words of the Latins ""Alea iacta est.", the die is cast and fate is determined to rid the human race of Louis the Impotent now let us come together in arms to fight for the Republic!"

Thousands cheered in the streets of Cordeliers and began singing again. Already the soldiers of the Phrygian Guard were gathering their weapons, anything from butcher knives, swords, or firearms. They began marching through the district, their singing attracting more and more followers until finally they turned toward the Assembly.

"Come on champions of liberty! To the Assembly we go to make our voice heard!" Antoine Durand carried a rusty sword and matchlock pistol with a tricolored rag encirculing his torso like many others in the mass.

Antoine Durand and the Durandists declare their support for Vincent Parent's coup.

 
M. le Cancillier,

Does the proposed new Government propose to abolish the Civil Constitution of the Clergy, and return the right of appointment to the Holy Father? If not, I must oppose it. I have little tolerance for this present madness, but to replace it with a rogue's gallery of those who would remove even the King is to ask too much.

-M. Richard
 
La Cordeliers - Issue II

The Durandist Declaration

I. France must become a Republic of Virtue
II. All monarchs and aristocrats who do not join the side of Liberty must be removed from the society.
III. The Revolutionary Leadership must choose individuals of French upbringing, emigrees may allow to exist in France but shall no political power until the obtaining of citizenship under a new constitution.
IV. The Republic must have a strong central government with all members elected by the French citizenry no matter their gender, class, or background over the age of twenty one or appointed by such members.
V. The refocusing of the nation's efforts toward rebuilding the French military with men of merit and sound character.
 
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Then so be it...

I support Parént's coup and urge the good People of Paris to rise in arms to support the National Guard against the Reactionaries and to finally establish a truly Democratic Constitution.

For the Revolution!

- André Bouchard
 
OOC: Syriana, your inbox is full
 
The following is printed and distributed as far as possible across the former Province of Poitou:

To my fellow Frenchmen:

I perhaps am not the most distinguished of men. I am aware I am not the original choice of my departement - for the original choice had been removed for the simple crime of choosing loyalty to his vocation over loyalty to the mockery known as the Civil Constitution. I am not even some great statesman. I am merely a country lawyer, loyal to the Catholic Faith, to France, and to my King. I would have been happy to, at most, work to reform the Constitution in favor of my constituents, and in favor of Holy Mother Church, who even now does not approve of the measures concerning her. I would otherwise have been content to do my duties in obscurity, to be of interest only to archivists and others of that sort.

But now we are faced with a conspiracy, which to the best of my knowledge has the following objects:

-To overthrow our beloved King, to which even these conspirators had sworn before God their loyalty;
-To institute a so-called Republic, which even more so than their previous brayings, is foreign to the sentiments of true Frenchmen;
-To imprison and criminalize all those whose only crime is to persist in upholding their oaths towards our King which they so solemnly swore;
-To continue the policies of the so-called Civil Constitution, undertaken by the previous ministries but which ought to have been met with peaceably changing the law, as provided under our present Constitution;
-To subject our beloved France to even more disorder, and tumults, which only barbarians ought to tolerate.

Needless to say I cannot, in good conscience, violate the oath of loyalty I had sworn to Almighty God to my King; neither can I abide this call to alienate the good people of France from the rightful affections they owe our King. While I have my reservations regarding the present Government, I cannot in good conscience support this upcoming conspiracy.

Therefore, as one loyal subject to another, I call on all faithful Frenchmen and Frenchwomen to resist the designs of the conspirators, whether in the Army, or the National Guard, or anyone else; if they attempt to impose the coup violently, meet them with rightful force. I call on all faithful Frenchmen and Frenchwomen to rally to our King, and uphold him.

Vive la France!
Vive le Roi!
Vive la Loi!
Vive le Sacre-Coeur!

-Francois Joseph-Marie Richard
Depute

[Monarchical]
 
War Secretary St Sebastien had left Paris the day before the coup announcement, having arranged to meet several junior officers at estate of one of them, when the news reached him; he wrote a brief letter, marked it with his seal, before returning to the capital to plan the defence of the Palace with the King; he hoped his lieutenants had not succumbed to this foolish revolutionism.

It is a shame, a complete and utter shame, that the armed forces of the Kingdom of France remain so utterly politicised and broken that seemingly no government, irregardless of its moderation or radicalism, can long endure; I am, and will always be, loyal to the House of Bourbon, and I find this coup to be nothing more than the latest of a long series of tragedies that will result in France’s destruction. Monsieur Parént and his allies I fear do not see the consequences of their actions, and that this vaunted republic of theirs is doomed to failure; the crowned heads of Europe will be loath to see the overthrowing of one of their own, and I fear that the army, as weakened and disunited as it is, will not be able to stand against the monarchical-counter-attack.

If a republic is what is to come, I will not stand against the public sentiment, for I have neither the resources nor the time to devote myself to such a worthless activity; however, I will not tolerate the capture and mistreatment of His Majesty or the Royal Family, regardless of whatever new government arises from the ashes of this new revolutionary fire pit. To those soldiers who remain loyal to the crown, I ask you to stand peaceably, and to cause no harm to your fellow Frenchmen; to those soldiers within Paris, I task you with the protection and the King and His family, and I fully expect you to fulfil your duties to the Sovereign and to France, and hope sincerely that no blood will be spilled.

For myself, I have been tasked by the previous government and by His Majesty himself to modernise, reform, and better the Army of France, a task which I intend to accomplish to the best of my abilities; so, should any of you ask me of my loyalties, whether to the cordeliers or to the Society or to this movement or that movement, I can only say this; I am loyal to France, above all. Irregardless of what man, monster, or committee is in power over her, I remain loyal to my Nation and to my Office, both of which I intend to serve as faithfully and effectively as I possibly can. And I, unlike the other officers of this nation, will not fall to idle chatter or injurious plotting, most certainly not whilst France is in such grave shape, and in ever graver danger.

~ His Excellency, Paul-Aurélien de St Sebastien, Baron d’Harfleur in Pretense, Secretary of State for War
 
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TALLY:

King of the French: Louis XVI ((Ab Ovo))
First Minister: Édouard-Alexandre Blair ((DensleyBlair))
Lord Chancellor: Pierre Le Goff ((Noco19)) - FOR THE REVOLUTION
Controller-General of Finances: René Leon ((Harpsichord)) - ABSTAIN
Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs: Fernande Duveau ((The Fish))
Secretary of State for War: Paul-Aurélien de St Sebastien, Baron d'Harfleur ((Riccardo93)) - FOR THE GOVERNMENT
Secretary of State of the Navy: Charles-Pierre-François Augereau ((baboushreturns)) - FOR THE REVOLUTION
Lieutenant-General of Police: Vincent Parént ((Dadarian)) - FOR THE REVOLUTION
Archbishop of Paris: Adolphe Beauchene ((czechmasaryk))

National Guard: Vincent Parént ((Dadarian)) - FOR THE REVOLUTION
Mayor of Paris: Jacques Nazaire Aulard ((Maxwell500))

 
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Javert Valjean member of the assembly and cordolier to the dead call all the true revolutionaries to support the continuation of the revolution that we started not long ago, for the current system cannot stand, and if we must bleed and fight then we will!

REVOLUTION
 
370px-Grand_Royal_Coat_of_Arms_of_France_%26_Navarre.svg.png
The news of the coup did not surprise Louis XVI. To say that he expected the coup would have been a stretch, but once the initial shock had passed he was unsurprised. Parent's shady dealings with the Cordeliers which he only vaguely kept His Majesty informed of were not signs of good times ahead and the recent unfurling of the Revolutionary flag evident in his rhetoric was unsettling. Whether the King genuinely supported the ideals of the Feuillants or was just playing to keep his throne would always be a subject of intense debate; however his actions in the immediate aftermath of the coup would leave no-one in doubt to his decisiveness. Having returned to the Palais des Tuileries following the lifting of the siege on the National Assembly; Louis, his family, and the Swiss Guard almost immediately departed for the much smaller and easily-fortified Palais du Luxembourg within the city. Baron de St Sebastien had already secured it with a small contingent of trustworthy soldiers under his command as Minister of War and it was there that Royalist reaction to the coup coalesced.

2-jardin-du-luxembourg.jpg

The Palais du Luxembourg
With His Majesty were the First Minister, the Minister of War, and the Archbishop of Paris; alongside a great deal of Feuillant and Monarchique delegates whom had fled fearing the wrath of the Society. After fortifying the palace against possible assault and spending a great deal of time in conference to determine the official reaction of His Majesty's Government, the King issued the following statement:
266px-Royal_Coat_of_Arms_of_France_%26_Navarre.svg.png
His Most Christian Majesty wishes to once more express his support for the Revolution as embodied in the Constitution of 1791 and the rule of law, to which all government ministers swore an oath of loyalty. But the dishonourable and perfidious actions of the so-called Société de Messieurs Français have no place in any civilised society and violate their honour as gentlemen and the rule of law under the Constitution. Therefore while His Majesty does, in accordance with his powers under that constitution, Mssrs. Le Goff, Augereau, and Parent are dismissed from their posts, and Mssrs. Richard, Nogart-Lefebvre, and Jean are appointed to their respective posts. This is, however, only to be a temporary measure until a new constitution is inaugurated; under which His Majesty supports both the inclusion of popular suffrage and the devolution of ministerial appointments to the First Minister. Finally, His Majesty urges all Parisians who remain loyal to the Crown to resist violence and unlawful arrest.

For France, the Revolution, the Law, and the Government,

125px-Signature_of_Louis_XVI.svg.png
 
Name: Louis Phillipe II, Duc d'Orléans, Duc de Nemours et Prince de Joinville, Premier Prince du Sang connu comme "Philippe Egalité"
Date of Birth: 13 April 1747
Estate: Second
Religion: Catholic
Culture: French
Biography: Louis Philippe Joseph d'Orléans was the son of Louis Philippe d'Orléans, Duke of Chartres, and Louise Henriette de Bourbon. His mother came from the royal dynasty (the Bourbons) and Philippe himself was cousin to King Louis XVI. He was born at the Château de Saint Cloud, one of the residences of the Duke of Orléans a few miles west of Paris. In 1769 he married Louise Marie Adélaïde de Bourbon, daughter of his cousin, the Duke of Penthiêvre and, after her brother's death in 1767 heiress to the richest man in France. This combined with Phillipe's own not inconsiderable wealth after inheriting control of the House of Orléans from his father made him possibly the richest man in France after his father-in-law. He also inherited the title of Premier Prince du Sang (First Prince of the Blood) and thus, after the Royal Family, first in line to the French Throne.

As Duke of Chartres, he opposed the plans of René de Maupeou in 1771 when Maupeou successfully upheld royal interests in a confrontation with the Parlement de Paris, and was promptly exiled to his country estate of Villers-Cotterêts in the former Picardy province, now in the modern Aisne in northern France. When Louis XVI became king in 1774, Philippe was still suspected of anti-royalist sentiment in the eyes of the court. Marie Antoinette hated him for what she viewed as treachery, hypocrisy and selfishness, and he, in turn, scorned her for her frivolous and spendthrift lifestyle.

Louis Philippe, a member of the Jacobin club, used his wealth and family connections to help spread the revolutionary ideas of Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Montesquieu. Cousin to King Louis XVI and thus a member of the Bourbon family line, Philippe opened the Palais-Royal to the Jacobins as a refuge from royalist censors. This palace, which was exempt from government censorship, allowed Jacobins to meet in Paris not only to discuss and debate revolutionary principles but also to print and distribute pamphlets to other Parisians. Although the philosophies of Rousseau and Montesquieu could not provide a concrete system for creating a moral government, the free exchange of ideas along with rising literacy rates fueled the changing social and political ideologies of Parisians. Because of his social, economic, and political power, Philippe was able to create a center for revolutionary ideology that played a large part in the undermining of the crown. He also made himself very popular in Paris by his large gifts to the poor during times of famine. To appear egalitarian, he opened up the gardens of the Palais Royal to the public and allowed shops in the palace's arcades. It is also wildly believed that it was his gold that funded the Réveillion Riot and the Storming of the Bastille. As such he is very popular with the people of Paris and was elected to the National Constituent Assembly after a short trip to Britain ordered by the King on the advice of the Marquis de Lafayette, apparently jealous of the Duke's popularity.
 
The following is sent out to all the prefectures of the departements, bearing the seal of the Lord Chancellor:

Dear Mssrs. le Prefets and all other judicial officers of France:

It may have come to your notice that there has been a conspiracy in the capital against the King, the Constitution and the Government. Naturally, such acts must be resisted.

Therefore, I entreat and instruct you, in my capacity of Lord Chancellor of the Kingdom of France, to do the following in support of His Most Christian Majesty, Louis, by the Grace of God and the constitutional law of the State, King of the French:

1) Any person or group of persons pretending to act in the name of the so-called "Republic" or any permutation thereof are to be treated as traitors, and be dealt with according to the law.
2) Any laws or other legal acts passed in the name of the so-called "Republic" are to be regarded as null and void. The laws of the Kingdom of France are to be executed as normal.
3) Any printing or willful distribution of any material in the name of or in support of the so-called "Republic" is to be considered evidence of treason.

I am confident that as public officials that you will continue to execute your duties in conformity with the oath you have all sworn, as have I.

Sincerely,

Francois Marie-Joseph Richard
Lord Chancellor of the Kingdom of France.

[Monarchical]
 
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