Kingdom of Lille-Wallonia (1962: The Apocalypse)

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The Kingdom of Lille-Wallonia\ Royaume de Lille et de Flamande is a kingdom located in Western Europe and is one of the most economically and politically successful nations to exist in the region. It is a close ally of Kentshire, Alsace-Lorraine, the Somme Republic and East Anglia.

Doomsday 1962
Also see- Warsaw Pact targets in Western Europe.
 * The targets hit were at-

Belgian contact with the Congo Free State ceased as of Doomsday.

Survival
As the inevitable chaos insured, surviving troops, Gendarmes and police to help retain order in the early years. The regional governments of Hainaut, Namur and Nord - Pas-de-Calais coordinated their efforts to help the victims of the nuclear bombings as best as they could, but electricity supplies failed with in a few hours and water supplies stopped after a week. As Dutch, German and French refugees flooded in the 3 provinces found it impossible to cope, annexed the servivour community at Oostende and closed the border in the January of 1963.

By the time of famine and cholera epidemic of mid-1963 to mid-1964 things had turned for the worse and about 40% of the 75% who had survived the attacks died. Martial law and heavy food rationing was declared in the March of 1964 and would last until the May of 1974.

The mayor of Hainault, Philippe De Lyon, who was the emergency committee’s de facto leader and his ad hoc Franco-Walloon militia, became the only source of stability in the land. This was even more so with the growing raids by the numerous desperate tribesmen of the bombed out Bitburg-Prüm region of Germany in the 1960’s and 1970’s. Philippe De Lyon later declared himself ‘King’ of a unified on May 1st, 1964, in order try to stabilise the decaying political climate. Harsh laws were enacted, so the repair work continued and the living standards slowly rose.

The Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV), also known among farmers as 'blue-ear pig disease' also killed some pigs in late 1964.

1965-1982
The town of Liège and Luxembourg were contacted in 1968 and the prior assimilated in 1978. The Charbonnage de Courcelles Nord coal mine was reopened in 1972, using a mixture of penal labour and captured tribesmen from Bitburg. The Charbonnage du Gouffre coal mine was reopened in 1974, using a mixture of free labour and ferther captured tribesmen from Bitburg. Sadly, the abuses of human rights in the late 1960’s and early 1970’s were cruel and atrocious, but necessary!

Both the act of martial law and the heavy food rationing that was declared in the March of 1964 were scrapped in the May of 1974.

Light industry started to occur around Namur, Mons, Arras and Lille in the late 1970's and Wallonian coal was readily avlibal trough out the nation from 1980, but rationed un till 1982, Both the independent villages of Eupen and Bastogne were successfully invited in to the union in 1979.

First contact

 * While fishermen from Kentshire and Lille-Wallonia had often met informally at sea since the fleets were officially reached in the summer of 1969, but official fist contact was made by ambassadors in 1972. A interim Normandy was found a month later, in 1969, by a fishing vessel which had found the port of Cherboug and the Cotentin Peninsula were part of it on their arrival their.
 * First contact was accidentally made with Frisian Republic when fishermen docked on one of the islands during a bad gale in 1973.
 * East Anglia and the by then Normandy and Somme Republic would also start relations in 1973. Kentshire, East Anglia, the  Normandy and Somme Republic and Lille-Wallonia would become close allies as time passed.
 * First contact was made with explores from the Dutch Remnant Republic in Antwerp dock's ruins, on July 5th, 1978.
 * First contact was made with the Republic of Alsace-Lorraine on January the 5th, 1982 and Lower Saxony on January the 6th, 1982.

1983-1997
The monarchy would pass to the slightly less ruthless King Stefan Marten De Lyon between 1983 and 1985. He began to promote adult schooling and better farming, but was just as ruthless as his predecessor in other respects.

Stefan's more democratic and humane son, Anton Marc De Lyon, would inherit the throne in 1985, after his farther resigned office as a result of the 1985 general strike. The new King banned cock fighting in 1986 and legalised trades unions in 1987. The left wing union leader, Andrew Le Vior, was sacked by his mine manager after being found out as the driving force behind the less than successfully 6 month long Walloon coalminers’ pay strike of 1989. He also opposed the unequal economic development, which favoured the Walloons over Picards. As the economy grew in the 1990's, pay and investments rose sharply, thus pay had increased by a total of 60% between 1989 and 1997.

1998 to present date
The first freely elected parliament met in 2000. Elections are held every 4 years by the first parts the post method, by any nationals over the age of 17.

The King's far-reaching reforms changed the formerly unitary state into a federal state, ending a long period of political instability that had occurred beaten Walloons and Picards over years of unequal economic development, which favoured the Walloons.

It joined The English Channel Republic on June 5th, 2002.

The Oudegracht, or "Old Canal" was cleared and the historic Dom Tower of Utrecht repaired between 1999 and 2005.

The leading coal mine owner  Albert A. Laurent has payed for other ongowin renovation work in Utrecht since 2007.

The earthquake, tornado and server weather

 * Richter scale 6.2 earthquake caused major damage and 3 deaths in Oostende in 2008.
 * The rainstorm and floods of mid 2007 killed 2 in Oostende.
 * The winter of 2009-10 was the worst in 50 years killing 60 people.
 * A tornado ripped through Namur killing 22 people in the spring of 2001.
 * The rainstorms of early in the June of 2012 killed 1 prson on Lille and Mons.

Former refugee camps

 * 1) Namur
 * 2) Arras
 * 3) Hainault
 * 4) Lille

Military
The armed forces discontinued the use of bows and swords in favour of rifles and pistols in 1985. The army has a volunteer force of 15,000 and a conscripted force of 5,000 troopers.

Army

 * 1) 2x T15 Tank
 * 2) 2x FT-17 Tank
 * 3) 12x Chevrolet RD 4x2 (USA) - Truck
 * 4) 5x T17E1 Staghound (USA) - Armoured Car
 * 5) 5x AMC 35 Tank
 * 6) 5x The Renault R35 (an abbreviation of Char léger Modèle 1935 R or R-35) Tank
 * 7) 4x Leopard 1 Tank
 * 8) 7x AEC Matador 4 x 4 medium artillery tractor.

Weapons

 * 1) Colt M911 (side arm)
 * 2) Thompson Sub-machine gun
 * 3) The MG 42 (shortened from German: Maschinengewehr 42)
 * 4) The French Darne machine gun.
 * 5) The M60 (formally named United States Machine Gun, Caliber 7.62 mm, M60)
 * 6) The FN Model 1903 (M1903, Browning No.2, FN Mle 1903 or FN Ml 1903),
 * 7) Nagant M1895 Revolver
 * 8) Mauser C96 (Construktion 96)
 * 9) Colt 45 pistol
 * 10) Canon de 75 modèle 1897
 * 11) Canon de 75 modèle 1912 Schneider
 * 12) The 7.7 cm Feldkanone 96 neuer Art (7.7 cm FK 96 n.A.)
 * 13) Ordnance QF 18 pounder
 * 14) Ordnance QF 25 pounder
 * 15) BL 4.5 inch Medium Field Gun
 * 16) The French Darne machine gun.
 * 17) Stokes mortar
 * 18) Enfield No. 2 Mk I Revolver
 * 19) The Rifle, Anti-Tank, .55in, Boys commonly known as the "Boys Anti-tank Rifle" (or incorrectly "Boyes", nicknamed the "elephant gun")
 * 20) Austen submachine gun
 * 21) Short Magazine Lee-Enfield Mk I (1903)

Navy
It has 2 patrol boats, 1 corvette and 1 mine sweeper/layer.

Air force
There are only 2 Supermarine Mk XIV Spitfires, 2 cargo planes and 3 light helicopters.

Battles

 * 1) With the tribes north of Liège (1983-4)
 * 2) With the tribes east of Liège (1989)
 * 3) With the tribes in Aachen (1990)
 * 4) Helping Kentshire against the tribes of east Surrey (1992)
 * 5) With the tribes in Bitburg with Kentish help (1995)

Flanders in 1978
Berlaar, Grobbendonk, Nijlen, Zandvoort and Ranst were all villages of about 300-350 people of mixed Fleming and Dutch decent in each. The villages were assimilated by 1981. The overgrown, partly flooded and radioactive ruins of Antwerp docks are only inhabited by a few tribesmen. Contact was made with exsplores from the Dutch Remnant Republic at this point.

Utrecht in 1979


While the democratically run village of some 1,500 people of mixed Fleming, Dutch and German decent was found and assimilated by 1982, the surrounding land was a swamp infested with hostile tribesmen and raiders from the nearby fortified villages of Amersfoort, Veenendaal, Houten, and Zeist.

After the 1968 Dutch floods, the Kromme Rijn (originally the main bed of the Rhine river), the Vaartse Rijn (The medieval canal reconnecting Utrecht to the newer main stream of the Rhine, the Lek), the Amsterdam-Rhine Canal, the Lek River and the Merwede Canal became badly blocked in several places and regularly spilled over their banks turning much of the district in to a swamp.

The Oudegracht, or "old canal" in Utrecht, and the Amsterdam-Rhine Canal were cleared and the historic Dom Tower of Utrecht repaired between 1999 and 2005.

Zorersell AFB 1989
The overgrown and radioactive ruins and the surrounding land was a swamp was, and still is, partially under the control of hostile tribesmen.

Arnhem, Aachen, Prüm and Bitburg in 1989
The local tribes and villagers around Arnhem had formed in to minor union of farming communality for mutual protection against barbarian groups around Aachen, Prüm and Bitburg.

Ardennes department 1989
Many friendly independent farming and forest communities of French and Luxembourgers were discovered and were assimilated by 2004. Most of France south of the region lies in ruins due to a series of localised atomic bombings during Doomsday.

Government and politics
King Anton Marc De Lyon holds a near monopoly on power, but is a caring and benevolent leader, who puts the interests of his people first. He had started to democratise the country as of 2000.

Party Alignment

 * 1) Rexists- Far fight wing and ultra conservative
 * 2) Christian Democrats- center right and monitoryist
 * 3) Liberals- Center ground and liberalist.
 * 4) Socialists- Center left and pro-democracy
 * 5) Picardy Party- Right wing and Picardy nationalism
 * 6) Wallonia Party- Right wing and Walloon nationalism
 * 7) Greens- Ecologist and libralist
 * 8) Utrecht Party- Pro-Utrecht and libralist

Local government
The democratic systems that existed before Doomsday were restored in 2004.

2012 Parliamentary Election

 * 1) Belgian Christian Democrats- 63% (32 seats)
 * 2) Belgian Socialists- 22% (12 seats)
 * 3) Belgian Liberals- 12% (6 seats)
 * 4) Picardy Party- 1%. (0 seats)
 * 5) Wallonia Party- 1% (0 seats)
 * 6) Rexists- 0.5% (0 seats)
 * 7) Belgian Greens- 0.4% (0 seats)
 * 8) Utrecht Party- 0.1% (0 seats)

Economy
The economy of the nation dependent on coal mining, agriculture and forestry. However, since the economic reforms 1998, the economy has become more diversified. Trade with Kentshire, involved trading Kentish steam trains for Lille-Wallonia coal in the 1970's and 1980's.

Transport
Due to the high number of electric trains, most of the remaining railways were ruined by the EMP pulse on Doomsday and both horses, bicycles and canal boats became the transport norm until more steam trains were made in 1977. Alcohol and petrol cars started to return in the 1980’s and 1990’s respectively, but are still scares. The railways now own (as of 2008)-
 * 18 x Maldegem stoom 3 steam locomotive
 * 15x CFV3V-MF33 steam locomotive
 * 16x Steamtram SNCV steam trams
 * 2x Belpaere type steam locomotive
 * 32x passenger carriages
 * 12x freight carriages
 * 23x coal trucks
 * 2x (re-wheel gaged) GWR 2251 Class steam loco
 * 2x (re-wheel gaged) GWR Pannier Tank 7714 steam locos
 * 6x 2 (re-wheel gaged) MK1 BR coaches

Healthcare
Thyroid cancer is still a major problem, but became much lower since 1974.

Education
Compulsory schooling from the ages 4 to 18.

Waterworks
The network of rivers and canals provide the nation with most of its water supply.

Media
The right wing La Libre Belgique newspaper has been in decline since 1984 due to the increasing sales of the non-political Kentish newspaper, the Dover Supernova (Founded 1980, Walloon and Picard supplements issued 1999).

The national radio and TV station started up in 1994 and 2002 respectivly, in the towns of Arras, Mons, Namur, Liège and Utrecht. It broadcasts for 6 hours a day on 2 medium wave frequencies. It is called Radio-Télévision Lille-Wallonia.

Wine
Picard wine went back on sale in 1989 and was exported to Kentshire, East Anglia and Southern England ever since the trade deal of 2004.

Sport
Croquet, Pertonk, Boule and football are all major sports in the nation. The National soccer team have reguley play matches with the Luxembourg and Kentshire teams as of 1998.

The arts
The Belgian surrealist artist, René François Ghislain Magritte (21 November 1898 – 14 May 1968) has fallen out of favour in recent years, while The French impressionist artist Henri Marie Raymond de Toulouse-Lautrec-Monfa or simply Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec for short (24 November 1864 – 9 September 1901) has gained much popularity since the 1980's and is regarded as a master painter.

The Death Penalty
It is applying to-


 * Murderers,
 * Sex predators (like rapists, and child molesters),
 * Traitors,
 * Enemy spies.

They are executed by hanging in Wallonia and guillotined in Picardy.

The death penalty was scraped in 1982 and replaced with life without the possibility of parole.

The Charleroi (Hainaut) crook, serial killer and child molester, Marc Dutroux was convicted in 2003 of having kidnapped, tortured and sexually abused 7 teenage girls during 1994 to 1996, 5 of whom he murdered. He was guillotined, under special rules allowing a one off execution, in the ground of Lillie prison on May 2nd, 2004.