Post by franceypoo on Aug 23, 2010 17:26:46 GMT 1
Country: France (aka
Real name: Francis Bonnefoy
Personality: Francis is first and foremost a very proud nation. He loves his country, his language, and his food, and also argues that it is better than anyone else's. Much better. In fact, everything of his is superior to anything German, American, English... especially English. But Francis would also like to point out that he is a very friendly nation. Very, very friendly, and full of amour. In fact, he is so full of amour that he is almost overflowing, and willing to offer it to nearly anyone!
In his pursuit of "amour," Francis has been known to go rather far. He believes that nudity shows the true beauty of the human body and therefore has more than a little of an exhibitionist streak, running around (on Christmas and other holidays, especially) in the buff with nothing but a rose to cover his privates. This is from a belief that other nations should not be deprived of his beauty. And of course, he refuses to be deprived of other nations' beauty - he is willing to strip anyone and everyone in order to spread l'amour. Sexual harrassment is just another form of love!
But Francis is also one of the oldest nations, and it is impossible to live that long if one simply focuses on amour, especially through times of suffering. He does have a serious side to him, though it is often hidden. He is extremely manipulative and is not above setting nations against each other in order to come out the victor. His strength is in diplomacy rather than fighting - as he says, "I am a lover, not a fighter!" - but when cornered he has no qualms about pulling punches or adhering to gentleman's rules; instead, a fight with Francis can turn into a spitting, hair-pulling catfight if you aren't careful. Of course, his lack of rules is matched by his lack of stamina, so if you exhaust him you will probably win. He does not train to fight. His manipulative side is also often punitive; when he sees that he has a victory he will push for it with all his strength, not stopping to consider the feelings or well-being of others involved. When he wins, he wants to win completely; when he loses, he will generally try to weasel out of serious punishment. Lately he has preferred surrender and concessions to knock down drag out fighting, reasoning that it is best to preserve himself rather than die for an ideal.
Francis has been known to refer to alliances as "love affairs," and this typifies the way his less serious side sees the world. He enjoys interpersonal relationships and can get along well with nearly anyone - provided they are not a) England, b) trying to tell him he's wrong, or c) actively at war against him. To him, sex is an expression of love, and love is the appreciation of another's beauty. He would describe it as, "being in love with beauty." However, he tends to avoid serious, committed, long-term relationships. The closest he has gotten to being in love with someone in the traditional sense was with Jeanne d'Arc, and he has the possible distinction of being the only nation who ever fell completely in love with a human. Ironically, Jeanne was a saintly virgin who would never dream of a sexual relationship with Francis. She was also handed over for trial by England, for which Francis has never quite, completely forgiven him. Still, this doesn't stop him from being extremely affectionate, PDA-oriented, and prone to grandiose statements of "amour" that he doesn't really mean.
Finally, Francis loves jokes of any kind. He is not above playing practical jokes, though of course he (and his dignity) would prefer that another nation suggest them. That way he can say he was just "going along," when really, of course, he would have suggestions and input of his own. He also loves verbal jokes and tends to be very witty. This wit isn't always a good thing, as it makes him rather insulting at times and is usually directed against another nation, causing others to laugh "at" them rather than "with" them. He considers nicknames to be jokes as well.
Likes:
- wine
- amour
- gratuitous nudity
- roses
Dislikes:
- England
- English
- war
- losing
History:
- The land that is France was originally known as Gaul, and conquered by Julius Caesar in the Gallic Wars from 58 to 51 BC. Gaul was hassled by barbarian invaders during the decline of the Roman empire and finally conquered by the Franks, headed by Clovis I.
- Charlemagne was arguably the most important leader of France in the Middle Ages; he became a European power when he became Holy Roman Emperor in 800. His reign brought about a flowering of education and the arts, but shortly after he died his empire was partitioned, France going to one of his sons.
- In 1066, William of Normandy conquered England and was crowned king, thus bringing French influence into England. The marriage of Eleanor of Aquitaine (French) to King Henry II of England in 1152 gave large portions of France to the English. This led to trouble later when Edward III of England declared himself king of France, thus sparking the Hundred Years War in 1337. Fighting raged on and off, broken by a series of uneasy and short-lived treaties, two notable events being the Battle of Agincourt in 1415, where a small English force triumphed against a larger French one, and the ascendancy of Jeanne d'Arc, whose leadership broke the long-lasting seige on Orleans and turned the tide in favor of the French. In 1453 a lasting peace was finally struck with the English driven out of France except for the small area of Calais.
- Also around this time was the "Western schism," the name for the Avignon Papacy when Clement V moved the seat of the papacy from Rome to Avignon, France, thus giving France's rulers a great deal of power over the pope and causing considerable consternation among world powers.
- King Francis (Francois) I, of the early sixteenth century, embraced Renaissance ideals to the fullest. France took over Milan (won fron Austria in the Italian Wars of 1494-1559) and (King) Francis encouraged many Italian Renaissance artist to move to and work at his court, the most notable of these being Leonardo da Vinci, who is said to have died in Francis's arms. Francis I also had an intense rivalry with Charles (Carlos) V, Hapsburg and Holy Roman Emperor with whom Henry VIII of England allied himself. The years of the fifteenth and sixteenth century were also marked by religious strife between Protestants and Catholics; France stayed and still remains a largely Catholic nation.
- The seventeenth century was a period of extravagance and absolute power for the French monarchy, marked by the reign of Louis XIV, the Sun King, whose elaborate court life had practically bankrupted the country by the end of his reign. He is most remembered for his lavish palace at Versailles. Also during this century, in 1608, Quebec, Canada, was founded.
- Widespread discontent among the bourgeoise and the new philosophical ideas of Voltaire and Rousseau created a troubled political atmosphere to which the ideals of the American Revolution of 1776 (which France aided) only added. On July 14th, 1789 (Francis's birthday and a national holiday), a mob stormed the Bastille and initiated the French Revolution. The battle cry of this revolution was "Liberty, Equality, Fraternity!", and revolutionaries tried and executed Louis XVI, his wife Marie Antoinette, and many other aristocrats. Robespierre and his Committee of Public Safety led the executions and soon gained nearly tyrannical rule until they were overthrown in 1794.
- Napoleon Bonaparte crowned himself "first consul" of France in 1799 and then Emperor of France in 1804, proceeding onto a series of campaigns that were intended to expand French power in Europe and enlarge the newly formed Empire of France. At its peak, the First French Empire held lands in Spain, Italy, Germany, and Poland, and counted Austria and Prussia as allies. However, Napoleon's forces were greatly weakened while fighting in Spain and Portugal, and his 1812 invasion of Russia proved absolutely catastrophic. He abdicated and was exiled in 1814, at which time the Congress of Vienna attempted to decide how to partition his former lands and what punitive actions, if any, to take against France; however, the French ambassador Talleyrand managed to mitigate the consequences so that nothing serious happened to the country.
- Napoleon returned to Paris in 1815, was crowned emperor again, then defeated comprehensively by English and Prussian forces and exiled to St. Helena, from which he did not return.
- In 1848 Napoleon's nephew became president of France, then crowned himself emperor. During the Crimean War he allied France with Britain, adding to France's power in Europe. Napoleon III's defeat at the hands of Prussia in the Franco-Prussian war marked the definitive end of the French monarchy and the rise of the Third Republic in 1871. Here France also lost the territories of Alsace-Lorraine, which it fought for in World War I.
- World War I began in 1914 in northern France. Originally Germany won a series of major victories, but as both armies became entrenched the fights grew more brutal and less definitive. With assistance from the English, other allied powers, and finally, America, France was able to emerge victorious from the long and grueling conflict, regaining Alsace and Lorraine in the Treaty of Versailles.
- The punitive measures taken against the Germans in this same treaty fostered long term economic consequences and resentment that led to the rise of the Nazi movement and Hitler in 1934. France declared war on Germany in 1939 as a consequence of the German invasion of Poland, and Paris fell in 1940 because of, among other things, inexperienced French soldiers and a smaller industrial base. The puppet Vichy government was installed and Charles de Gaulle, a Brigadier General, led the French resistance to Nazi occupation from Britain. On June 6, 1944, the D-Day invasion was launched into Normandy, France, by British, American, Polish, Norwiegan, Australian, Canadian, and Free French troops. This was the first step towards the eventual liberation of France and the Allied victory in World War II.
- The Fourth Republic, led by de Gaulle, suffered inner turmoil and outer turmoil from the colonial wars in Algeria and Indochina, causing France to finally lose its longstanding colonial power in both of those areas. The Republic proved incompetent and collapsed, leading to the creation of the Fifth Republic, also led by de Gaulle, which stands today.
- France's current president is Nicolas Sarcozy and its prime minister, Francois Fillon.
Role Play Example: (from a Napoleonic Wars RP with Russia)
A pavilion on a raft in the middle of a river -- it was certainly one of the more creative places to hold diplomatic meetings, truly, Francis thought; definitely one of the oddest places where he had planned to sign a treaty. He wondered if proceedings such as this were normal to Russia. He did not know the other nation quite so well. Of course, if Emperor Napoleon was to sign this treaty, he knew he would come to be acquainted even more deeply with his brother nation.
... And I must say, he thought grimly, I am looking forward to it.
No one could defeat him now, not with a vast army commanded by Emperor Napoleon. He had swept across most of Europe, had been bogged down in Poland for the winter but rose again at the Battle of Friedland, defeating tsarist forces soundly. Perhaps he was bruised, perhaps his knuckles were scraped from the fighting, pehaps... (perhaps he was still hungry in the nighttime and perhaps no matter how much he feasted, he could not be satiated). But now his goals would be met, his emperor would be triumphant, and he would continue to rise. The ascendency of the French Empire -- he liked that. Liked it very much.
Walking slightly behind Napoleon, with Talleyrand behind him, he stepped from their regal boat onto the raft, which gave only slightly under their weight. The pavilion, a white silk tent, was erected in the center of the craft, and it appeared that there was already a crowd. Francis spotted Ivan almost immediately -- standing large and stiffly in the corner, with that white scarf and pale coat that Francis recognized from across the battlefield. The scarf had gleamed like a signal beacon in the Russian troops.
He crossed the raft, boots making soft noises against the thick rugs that had been spread across the wooden boards, and stopped in front of Ivan, looking up at him. Francis thought that was probably uncouth; a conquering nation having to look up to the loser -- he would make sure that they were all seated in the next meeting. "Bonjour," he said coolly, with only a hint of a smile for politeness. "Je m'appelle Francois Bonnefoy."