GNS - Royalists Steadfast in Gallic Hebrides

[Colony News Service]

Gallic News Service - 742 AGS Saturday September 7th, 1500 New Paris Time

Royal Enclave declares intentions

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Royalist forces in the Hebrides today announced that they would not recognize the authority of the Grand Duchy of Burgundy, as yet another Gallic splinter state emerged from the ashes. The new state, styling itself the Gallic Royal Enclave, appears to be a military junta run by high ranking officials of Gallic Royal Intelligence and the Gallic Royal Navy.

The most notable of these figures is the former Marquise of Marseille, Renée Hennequin d'Avignon, who retreated from the Provence system during the Minarchy's uprising. d'Avignon, who records now show to have been the head of the Crown's spy network on Planet Marseille, possessed close ties to both the upper echelons of Royal Intelligence and high ranking Gallic nobility. The displaced Marquise claims to be acting under authority of King Charles XI himself, citing a letter of regency allegedly left in her care during the final days of the war.

While such a decree, if legitimate, would make the former Marquise Queen Regent of the Kingdom of Gallia, d'Avignon has rejected this title, instead fashioning herself Director-Regent. This is likely a calling to her position of Director within the GRI, which she rose to near the end of the war, as well as an attempt to garner favor with the unusually robust military demographic of the new state.

d'Avigon's first edict as Director-Regent of the Royal Enclave was to declare the authority of Grand Duke Trintignant null and void. She has also issued the immediate expediation of construction efforts on Planet Bordeaux, the Enclave's capital. Flooded with hundreds of millions people, primarily displaced nobility, servicemen, and Bretonian serfs, the incipient nation-state currently faces a great food and housing crisis. The Director-Regent has authorized the use of whatever means necessary to clear arable farmland and extract resources needed for the erection of more permanent housing in lieu of Bordeaux's tent cities.

Despite these challenges, the Royal Enclave refuses to surrender to Bretonia, and the three system state maintains a military disproportionately large to its small size. Analysts have surmised that the Enclave's position within the Hebrides is a tenable one, should they be able to resolve their present issues and avoid succumbing to civil unrest. The Enclave's fleet has shifted to a more defensive posture, and it appears that the only system outside their borders which they presently have a vested interest in is Dublin, where Enclave patrols have been seen engaging Bretonian forces on roughly equal footing. Elsewhere, the Enclave's military activies appear to be limited to smaller scale anti-shipping raids and hit and fade strikes on soft targets.

While it remains to be seen whether or not the Enclave will stand the test of time, it appears that if so, they could remain a thorn in Bretonia's side for years to come.

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Special Correspondent, Clovis Auberjonois

Tags: Gallia, Gallic War, Royal Enclave, Planet Bordeaux, King Charles, Marquise d'Avignon, Gallic Hebrides, GRN, Politics, Minarchy, Duchy, Burgundy