Following last month's engagement in the Provence system over Planet Marseille, what little Royalist and Council forces survived the battle withdrew indefinitely from the system, leaving Provence in the hands the local planetary government under Marquise Renée Hennequin d'Avignon of Marseille. Marquise d'Avignon, whose brother, the Duke of Provence, was killed in the attack, has called for solidarity and continued loyalty to the Roi while three of Marseille's infamous sunken cities surfaced today for the first time in over two centuries. Tens of thousands of people have emerged from the mysterious cities, which have grown unnoticed since their initial construction, starting in 550 AGS. It is unknown how many people remain below the surface, or on those cities which surfaced. Estimates vary wildly and the reports of the inhabitants often conflict.

Yesterday, a large hail of debris from the battle impacted along the shores of Castellane, a resort island in Marseille's southern hemisphere. The town is far from the government of Marquise d'Avignon, and while it was waiting for official relief efforts to arrive, emergency relief teams from the sunken cities rushed in to help. As the relief crews worked to provide aid to the shell shocked citizens, a spokesperson for the ocean dwellers - who claim citizenship to a state calling itself the Syndicated Minarchy of Provence - made a statement espousing not only anti-royalist sentiment, but growing doubts in the Council's leadership as well. Among concerns cited were the Council's reputation as a military junta with no vision of a post-royalist Gallia, disregard for the safety and well being of Gallia's citizen's, and rumors of an overwhelming influx of Council immigrants from Toulouse to be settled on Marseille.

The planet remains in a state of emergency as debris continue to rain from low orbit on islands like Castellane. The Minarchy, a libertarian state run by syndicated trade unions, has called for a vote of no confidence against the Marquise. No official statement has been released by the local royalist government, but eye witnesses claim to have seen numerous shuttles departing from the private spaceport of d'Avignon's residence. For now it seems that the crown has ceded their holdings in Provence to its new rulers, and it remains to be seen how the Council will be greeted should they return to the system themselves.■