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One or more subjects within this article are under rework, and may no longer be accurate.

Important notice: This page contains lore relevant to the upcoming France rework, and it may not reflect the current in-game setup that well. The ultimate goal, to eventually fully transpose the changes made to the lore in-game, still stands. This lore also may not be final, and some minor changes may occur. As the French devs are not ready to reveal the new French Civil War lore, this article will be heavily reduced and remain in that state until the devs are ready to show their progress.

The French Civil War[]

With the fall of Paris to the Germans, the General Strike turned violent, as frustrated Unionists became desperate to end the war before the Germans were in a position to occupy the whole country. Skirmishes with police turned into riots across much of the country, and the government was forced to resign, marking the beginning of a transitory period between the Third Republic to the Fourth.

This period was characterized by a dualistic power structure much like that of Russian between the revolutions of 1917 - on the one hand a Provisional Government of Liberals and Socialists, and on the other the CGT, claimed a "legitimate right to power" via their Trade Union structure and a new system of local councils. (However, unlike in Russia - where the Revolutionary Left's gains proved ephemeral - in France this provided the revolutionaries with the chance for permanently taking power.)

This uncertain situation continued through the summer of 1919 until things came to a head in the early autumn when the Provisional Government attempted to disarm and demobilise the French Army following the conclusion of a truce with the Germans. Fearing the Government was attempting to stifle the revolution (the Army was largely supportive of the Left) the Socialist Party began a boycott of the Parliament, and declared itself an ally of the CGT, followed thereafter by a number of the more radical Liberals.

Following this decision the Bolshevik Jacobins declared the Provisional Government an enemy of the Proletariat, encouraging Party members to begin a policy of agitation in favour of a "great purge of France, to forever destroy her class enemies". Inspired by Lenin and his revolutionaries and the outbreak of the Russian Civil War between the Reds and the Whites, gangs of working men and army units sympathetic to the Jacobin cause began to attack and loot the property of the aristocracy and upper middle classes - seizing land by force and holding the Establishment to account in revolutionary "courts".

Although they wanted to put a stop to this policy (they had hoped to negotiate with the Provisional Government), the CGT was unable to prevent the Jacobins from carrying out their attacks, or prevent an escalation of the crisis, as the Provisional Government gathered together the "forces of reaction" to respond with force and attempt a counter-revolution.

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