[center][b][color=NAVY][i][h1]FRANCE[/h1][/i][/color][/b]

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[hider=France's Recent History]
	
	Of all the Old Guard European powers, none were quite so shaken by the devastating Great War then mighty, mighty France. From the bloodstained Fields of Verdun, to the shattered trenches of Frontiers, and the disaster of Belleau Wood. Frenchmen blood spilled across Europe in her final stand against the Central Powers. The farmlands of Francia would prove the bleeding grounds for the kaisers. With more than four million dead, their unburied corpses strewn across battle torn France left a bitter hole in the nation’s heart. The war’s indecisive conclusion saw the end of an entire generation. The proud tricolor may not have lost territory, but her pride and back had been broken.

	The uneasy peace would see the total reclamation of the lost mainland, hundreds of miles of devastated farms and towns, many of which were abandoned in the face of the oncoming Germans. Refugees from the war would filter back over the following years, rebuilding, and resowing their homes and fields, scratching a meager living from the rubble. French Northeastern provinces would never again be competitive against its somewhat less crippled competitor in the Southwest. President Wilsons economic aid would prove a tremendous boon for a debt riddled Paris. American dollars would bolster reinvestment and spur a small, but notable economic rise. French elections would be dominated by social-welfare and anti-German politicians who would usher in an era of revanchism. Multiple expensive pension and medical programs were introduced, alongside unappareled military expenditure. A spirit of French nationalism began to rise, spurred by ravenous anti-German sentiment. Paris determined to ensure that France would never again be invaded to the degree that the Central Powers managed in the Great War began the construction of a bulwark against further aggression. A theoretically impenetrable network of fortifications on France’s border with Germany, named for the current the French Minister of War, the Maginot Line stood ready.

	Despite this unprecedented recovery, troubles would still arise within the greater empire. The growth of Japan and China bore witness to a new power dynamic in the far east. French Indochina became a hotspot in the Asian wars. Many within the Fatherland became rightfully concerned that evermore French blood would be spilt, defending the Empire abroad. Especially, since the greater danger lay her at home. The Great Depression, although milder in France than the wider world demonstrated clearly that the still recovering Tricolor did not have the economic, political, or military power to assert direct control of Indochina and Africa, and the Colonies were all but abandoned by Paris. The remaining French garrisons, made up mostly of untrained French officers, and Vietnamese conscripts would fold swiftly to the Japanese invasion in the summer of thirty-seven. The Japanese would prove vicious in their assault, inflicting unspeakable horrors on both native and colonist alike. Very few escaped, and those who managed to flee to friendly ports in Indonesia brought with them tales of massacres, mass rapes, and starvation.

	Newspapers and jingoist politicians would be quick to jump upon the issue. Leaving no good tragedy to waste they bemoaned the lack of response from the government and demanded retribution for these crimes. For too long France had suffered one defeat and humiliation after another, and calls to retake Indochina and defend the Empire competed against demands that France not leave itself vulnerable against rival European powers on the Homefront. For the first time in nearly a decade the social party found themselves in bitter contest against the populists. The elections of thirty-nine would prove a major victory for the Parti Fopulaire Français, and usher in a new hegemony in France. Under the leadership of Populist President Belaire DeMont the French government cooperated with the Chinese, coordinating the French Navy and Army in resecuring French Indochina. France was still in the process of rebuilding and modernizing its military over the war period, and so French participation was kept mostly to that of support, providing material supply to the Chinese armies. However, several French legions did participate in the jungles, and more than one naval skirmish occurred in the South China Sea.

	Initial successes in Indochina provided President Belaire the political sway needed to rapidly expand the French military and regarrisoned formerly abandoned colonies. Africa Algiers, Madagascar, and even the South American Guiana colonies were bolstered by reinvestment. Smartly clad French troops marched in military parades down the streets of Brest and Paris, flanked by heavy modern tanks. Drydocks pumped out shiny new ships, cruisers, and destroyers alike, with the tricolor flying high and proud above their bridges. At first the French fleets saw some success, capturing key islands and securing ports all throughout Indonesia. As the years dragged on however the conflict in Asia settled into a stalemated pattern. Without the capacity to support extensive invasions halfway around the globe, or outright defeat the Japanese navy the French operated under a doctrine of Fleet in Being, striking out on irregular sorties from the myriad allied bases in Indonesia. There was little hope of liberating Indochina, and the command staff were ever stretched on resources. Back home state news spoke of resounding victories and eventual total success, but even government propaganda couldn’t hide the truth of hundreds of returning coffins, and an ever-growing naval budget. Recently a tentative ceasefire was called as French public opinion began turning against the seemingly hopeless conflict, and the two governments opened discussions for a negotiated peace. The Japanese holding the stronger hand with their continued occupation of Indochina.

	Meanwhile political exiles from America, greater Europe, Russia, and other states began to find themselves in France. These extremists spent much of their time in the Cafés of Paris, writing articles and agitating against their Imperial powers and oppressive governments. Their efforts over the years raised the tension within the Republic to a near boiling point as the elections between the populist right and the left wing LREM are set to begin. All the while, an ever-present threat of an untrustworthy Germany lies to the East, spreading its socialist tendrils worming their way into the liberal bastion of France. Political turmoil, multi front wars, communist revolutions, and economic recession threatens to bring France to her knees. Yet the proud Tricolor flies on, defiant against it all.


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