Loronia

[Fascism Must Be Defeated]

Hey y'all! I've talked about this on the other place, but I have concountry (really one of several) called Loronia.

Loronia, officially The Republic of Loronia (French: République de Loronie) is a unitary republic in the far south of East America. It’s bordered by Esperania, Lydia, Camerack, Bentana, and the Revermont Bay to the north, and by the Southern Ocean to the South, East, and West. It also has a nominal claim over parts of Antarctica as well as Norwegian-controlled Bouvet Island. With an area of approximately 2,400,000 sq. miles, Loronia is one of the largest countries in the world, and ranks 28th in the world by population. It is also the third-largest Francophone country by population and has the world’s 18th-largest economy.

Here's a butt-ugly unfinished map of Loronia in the context of East America--I haven't much developed the rest of the continent yet, thus the fuzziness.



Loronia is divided into 18 provinces, which are further grouped into 7 regions. Although the country is in theory a unitary state, in practice the central government devolves significant power to the provincial level. Its capital and largest city is Pentin, which is a highly primate city and which forms the core of the National Metropolitan Area, which includes the major cities of St. David, Artois, Thessalie, and St. George. Other major urban agglomerations include St. Bernard-Reichenbach, Yvracville and Tchitonna.



Sorry about the lack of accents; I is Putlapa and II is Pentin.

Loronia has its origins as competing British, Spanish, and French colonies, with the French ultimately winning out. The country declared its independence during the French Revolution of 1848, and was a relatively stable industrializing democracy during the late 1800s and early 1900s, experiencing massive European immigration and an industrial economy focused on exports. Politics were characterized by a high degree of sectarian polarizaiton between its Protestant pluralities and the Catholic elite. However, the country’s serious defeat in World War I by Esperania lead to the Rossi years, during which democracy and human rights were significantly curtailed. After Rossi’s death in 1955 the country returned to full democracy in 1962. Modern Loronia is a high-income country, with an HDI of .851 although it struggles with relatively high inequality. Loronia is a founding member and active participant in many international organizations.

So yeah, this is my most thought out concountry. Loronia was born from the observation that, due to accidents of history, there are relatively few Francophone settler colonies, and certainly none the size of the US or Brazil. It's influenced a lot by Quebec, which is part of why the country is shaped the way it is, and by Argentina and Spain too.

[Fascism Must Be Defeated]

Obviously vague maps aren't super helpful--what factors really helps to understand the country are topography and population demographics.

First, topography. Here's a lo-res image of Loronia's topography. The white is mountains, and the blue are major rivers--the Hayward river to the north and the Nesselac River to South. The highest point is Mont Renard in Australie. The Hayward river is bigger than it looks; most of its basin is in Camerack and Bentana.



Basically, the South, West, and East of Loronia is highly mountainous, except for some flat antarctic plains in the Southwest. The big southern arc of mountains are called the Keltoon Mountains, though technically they come from several plates pushing and pulling apart and are thus not one range per se. The North Central portion of the country is extremely flat postglacial plains, while the mountains along western Revermont Bay, the Godolphin Mountains, are much lower lying and Appalachian, though they are still a substantial barrier. The gap along the Nesselac Valley is not especially flat except at its mouth; it's filled with hills and dales, and some areas have a very distinct topography as a result of ancient megafloods.

Note that in Loronia Northwest=Avalon, St. Bernard, and St. George+northeastern Marcheterre. Likewise Southern refers to everywhere west of Artois and South of Pentin.

Now with topography in mind, we can look at population distribution. The first map is of largest metropolitan areas, the second population, the third population density.







As you can see, much of the population is in the north, especially around Pentin, which is a true primate city. St. Bernard, less obviously is the second city, with Groléjac and Tchitonna next in line. Yvracville is the only city of true significance in the south--Adélaïde-Putlapa-Bermudez-Havre de L'Ouest is no megacity even if it make the top 10.

But the demography doesn't tell you everything about what a place is like. Here are some short summaries, province by province.

-Avalon (AV) is a bit of a world apart from the rest of the country. The British had two colonies in what is now Loronia: St. George and Avalon, but Avalon, unlike St. George, never fully assimilated into Francophone culture. A substantial number (~60%) of Avalonians are native English speakers and the province's politics are defined by the linguistic divide. There's a weak independence movement. Both Francophones and Anglophones here are left-leaning, the latter moreso than the former, due to being a historic center of industry. Population is concentrated along the massive Hayward river. The provincial capitol is Rochefort, but the largest city is Knoxton, which sits on the Hayward River at the border with Bentana. However, both are comparably sized.

-St. Bernard (SB) is an interesting place. Historically it was very polarized along sectarian lines, as much of the Hayward valley and interior is Protestant, while the coast, especially the city of St. Bernard, is predominantly Catholic. Thanks to secularization this is less of an issue, but it still informs voting patterns to some extent. St. Bernard Province is the most left-wing area of the country, as it was a huge industrial center, and Protestant areas lean to the left. The city was also a center of anti-Rossi protest movements. St. Bernard city is huge and rapidly growing, with immigrants from all over and many of Loronia's most prestigious universities. The Whiterock River, which drains into the Bay of Revermont at St. Bernard city, has a remote valley in the NE of the province which is predominantly anglophone.

-St. George (SG) is another highly polarized Northwestern province. St. George was founded as an English colony, but swapped for some sugar islands along with Avalon at the Treaty of Utrecht. A lot of Huguenots came here and as a result it assimilated to Francophone culture, but it is still mostly protestant, Methodist in particular. The city of St. George is very different though; due to its location as the port on the mouth of the Nesselac River, it recieved massive Catholic immigration in the 1800s, particularly by Italians. Rossi, as a St. Georgese himself, and an Italian, showered the city with patronage, and it consequently supports the far-right to this day. The rest of the province still prefers the left for similar reasons as St. Bernard, and it's usually capable of outvoting the city in provincial elections.

-Delta (DE) is dominated by suburbia. The cities of Pentin and St. George directly border the province to the North and South. Pentin in particular, as one of the world's largest cities, includes nearly half the province in its grasp. The remaining rural bits are actually quite unique. There was an old Anglophone Catholic population in the swamps, as well as a tiny maroon population. Delta is infamous as a swing area.

-Revermont (RE) is the second-largest province by population, with large-scale development along its beaches and its ski-friendly mountains. Revermont, unlike other previously discussed provinces, was never colonized by England and was never a destination for Huguenots or other prots; it's monolithically Catholic. The largest city is Groléjac in the center; Tchitonna on the coast is a major city as well and the provincial capitol. Revermont is crushingly right wing.

-Nopouel (NL) is a classic peripheral area. Most of the population and capital in Loronia is along Revermont Bay or the Nesselac Valley; the Southern provinces have easy access to these areas thanks to the rivers flowing in that direction. Nopouel is isolated by mountains and thus has never been populous or economically vibrant. Fishing and Logging are still the main industries and the area is exclusively Catholic. Grenier, the only real city, has a small tech industry saving it from the loss of shipbuilding and whaling. The population is concentrated in Grenier, the big towns of Ortega and Havre du Lac, and in the islands, which fan out densely south of Grenier, with a bunch of insular fishing villages. There is still a substantial indigenous population in the interior: the Pucpo people. Nopouel uniquely still votes for the Liberal Party (the Catholic party (ish) turned puppet opposition during the Rossi regime) and politics are centrist and deeply corrupt.

-Kegatin (KE) is a mix of Nopouel and the Nesselac valley, split by mountains. The largest city, also called Kegatin (surprise!) is in the Nesselac Valley, and is an old mining town: it sat on top of huge copper and coal deposits. Kegatin city has a radical far-left history as well as a crushing present day decline, but it still has enough people to outvote the rural east and give victories to the left.

-Ménevie (MV) is similar. Much of the state is dominated by outer Pentin suburbs, and its largest city, St. David, is really just an extension of urban Pentin. These suburbs mix with the old mining villages. St. David is a mix of African immigrants and radical university students at UPN-SD, so it leans left, as do the coal villages, but the suburbs are middle class and often quite hostile to the city. Ménevie is consequently a swing province.

-Pentin Province (PE) is the national capitol. Pentin is a massive world city, and its reach dominates the country. The city is hugely diverse, with large immigrant populations from Madagascar, Russia, Brazil, the Congo, and China, among many. It also has massive wealth in the city's financial district, Les Jouberts. There is of course great poverty here too. The province isn't just the city of Pentin; the massive inner suburb of Thessalie sits to the North and West and the smaller cities of Bichalaga and Béarn sit to the far southeast. The Province as a whole leans left, with the right strongest in the filthy rich western areas of the city+adjacent zones of Thessalie.

-Marcheterre (MA) is the largest province by population. A huge swath of Pentin suburbia dominates the province, as does the big ol' city of Artois, and several dense rural mining areas. Marcheterre is historically agricultural and Protestant, with a lot of Scandinavians and Germans (thus Lutherans, not Methodists or Calvinists). Thus it has a leftist bent which persists to today, but there are certainly right wing elements in the 'burbs.

-Reichenbach-La Confédération (RC) is in many ways the westward extension of Marcheterre--leftist populist protestants. However, the province is defined in many ways by the Frankenstein marriage of Reichenbach (the eastern 2/3rds) and La Confédération (the western 3rd) which is an artefact of Rossi-era province-line gerrymandering. La Confédération has lurched to the right due to small oil discoveries and the state is defined by La Confédération secession attempts. The largest cities are Tamise in La Confédération, and Djacatolotau, Ville de Reichenbach and Basourges in Reichenbach.

-Yvrac (YV) is fairly remote in theory, but it sits atop huge diamond and oil reserves. Consequently, Yvracville, the only city of note, has always been the largest southern city, and is booming hugely. Yvrac was another area showered with patronage by Rossi, and likewise it favors the right. Tavan et Tagge (TA) is similar, but it has never had a large city--just the small famring country/Yvracville exurbs of Tavan and the Tagge river basin which drains into Lake Yvrac. Very sparsely populated.

-L'Ouest (OU) is the remnant of a vast western province which was hacked apart to make most of the neighboring provinces. L'Ouest and its enclave Putlapa are part of a small conglometration of port cities along the Magdalena Bay, including Havre de L'Ouest, Bermudez, Putlapa, and the largest, Adélaïde. Putlapa was once the largest and got spun off into its own province, but really all of them blend together. Both provinces are strongly right leaning.

-Australie (AS) and Notusie (NO) are the sparsely populated southern provinces. Although they're often grouped together, it must be said that Australie looks more to the Nesselac Valley and the East Coast, while Notusie has some Yvracville exurbs and oil money. Both have big indigenous populations. Australie is left-leaning and Notusie goes to the right, generally speaking.

With this stuff in mind, the poverty map should make some sense.

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Note that this post was written for the elections earlier this year; results will be updated later once I outline and profile constituencies.

Contemporary Loronia is a parliamentary democracy, with MPs elected by closed-list proportional representation in constituencies below the provincial level, as well as a 15-seat bonus to the largest party, applied at the national level. Apportionment is via the Saint-Laguë method and the threshold for entering the National Senate is 4%. There are 515 members in the Unicameral National Senate. Elections are held every three years, although snap elections are fairly frequent. Currently the government is led by the Conservative party in coalition with the Democrats and the National Liberals; the prime minister is Grégoire Russo of Revermont. However, since the Democrats have withdrawn from the governing coalition, a snap election for May 10th has been called.

The largest political party at present is the Conservative Party (PC). The Conservatives have been in power for a while now, since 2009 to be specific, but their long tenure hides ups and downs in approval ratings; in the words of Journalist Éloïse Montani, the Conservatives are like a swing, rising up only in time for elections. An excellent example occured in 2016. A decline in oil prices, along with a few minor scandals and major flooding in Nopuel, cratered the PC brand, and the government dipped down to 22% approval ratings. But by the time of the next elections, in February of 2017, these issues had improved, and the Conservatives got a minority government in coalition with the National Liberals and Democrats.

The Conservatives are traditionally divided between a more bookish neoliberal wing, called "Terriers," dominant among PCers in the South and Nesselac, and a 'populist' wing, ("Bulldogs"), traditionally based in the east. The present PM, Grégoire Russo of Carpentier in Revermont, embodies the latter wing. Russo has been in power since 2012, when the previous PM, François Stein, was ousted in an internal rumble. Since then the Bulldogs have ruled the roost, with Russo purging large segments of the constituency lists in each election since. Russo himself is a polarizing and contradictory figure--a devout Catholic with many socially conservative views, he nevertheless has had four marriages--his most recent marriage, to Canadian performance artist Pauline Dangbrovskee-Kozwovskee, was the result of an affair, and ended in a "National Marriage" TV special in August 2018. Russo's primary policy initiative has been the partial privatization of state owned diamond company Saint-Aphrodyse into three or four private companies--seen as crude oligarchy by critics--as well as a constitutional ban on euthanasia (passed in 2017), tax cuts, and serious reforms to the curricula in National Universities, including required Religion and Loronian History courses, as well as a controversial ban on political speech in the classroom, which has been ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court. Despite that setback, Russo remains popular, although weakening oil prices have slowed the economy down somewhat.

The next largest party, and the other big rival for government is the Socialist Team, commonly known in French and English as L'Equipe. L'Equipe has been in power a few times; the first democratic government of Loronia was under its old Socialist Party brand. L'Equipe has been weakened in the present decades for two reasons. The most proximate is that they were in office during the financial crisis. The second is more ineffable but no less real--basically the weakening and neoliberalization of Social Democratic parties the world over. L'Equipe has, in its "lost decade" churned through three leaders--first Pierre LePage from 2009-2012, then Françoise Fielder from 2012-2016,and then Leo Sharif returning from 2016-2017. The current leader is Andrée Cohen, an obscure backbencher elected in 2014, who was picked as a compromise candidate between Sharif and Fielder loyalists [1]. Cohen represents Thessalie South, a heavily Russian working class constituency in suburban Pentin, and she may be an entry point for L'Equipe into Russian immigrants, a key swing demographic.

The third largest party is the Democratic Party (PD). The Democrats are not nice people; rather they are a vile far-right political coalition which represents the interests which benefited the most from the Rossi years--i.e. rich Southern oligarchs and rich Italian-Loronian suburbanites. They have been the majority only once, around the turn of the century, but a recent surge in polls, combined with their participation in the Russo government, has made many fear a return to power. Their current leader is former PM and party leader Ulysse Chaudenson of Yvrac-Kaetano, who returned to leadership in 2012 after years of floundering performances in the 2000s. Chaudenson is a charismatic egomaniac, so it's no surprise that he'd devolve government after Russo went against him. The Democrats are presently running on their usually three-pronged stool: a reduction in refugee inflows/immigration from Africa, Asia, and South America, abolishment of minority languages in public education, and alarm-jangling regarding old border disputes with Bentana, Amatha, and Norway.

The fourth largest party is the Popular Communist Party (PPC), a left-wing party. The PPC was formed from the merger of Communist Party, notable for its strong base in labor unions, and the Agricultural Party. Since the 1995 merger, the party has been stuck in the second tier of parties. 2017 was their best year ever, usurping L'Equipe in several constituences. They're fairly comparable to someone like Bernie Sanders or Warren ideologically. They have two leaders, one male and one female--Virginie Nakamoto of St. Bernard South, who would be the likely PM, and Lumumba Pierre of St. David.

The other party of government is National Liberal Party (PNL), the oldest party in the country. The PNL is a centrist patronage vehicle, notoriously corrupt and willing to sell parliamentary support to the highest bidder. They took a tack of "accomadation" during the Rossi regime and were allowed to rule the rural east as compensation. As a result, they've retained a quasi-illiberal hold on Nopouel and Eastern Kegatin/Revermont which has lasted to the present, as they were not purged in the same way the Rossi lackeys were.

There's a new party on the scene as well--the ridiculously named National Movement for Fatherland and Love (MNPA). Founded by TV journalist and ex-PC MP Jean-Claude Chatz, it aims to be "a national patriotic alternative which ignores the false divisions of left and right for a politics of solidarity and prosperity." Chatz is sometimes compared to Trump by ignorant outsiders, but he's really far blander--like a Mario Monti with charisma. Chatz's actual policy proposals are quite unpopular--privatizing heating, open up oil drilling in native lands, tax cuts--but the teflon personality of Chatz has pushed the party upwards.

There are a few other parties, namely the Greens (LV), the Anglophone parties (the center-left AP and the right wing Independent Party (IP)), and a few independents. But these are fairly marginal.

[1] The two have a blood rivalry which has also been a contributor to left losses, not unlike another Antipodean country.

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As discussed above, Loronia has one unicameral parliament, the National Senate or Sénat National (SN). There are 515 members. 500 of these are elected by Saint-Lague proportional representation in constituencies below the provincial level. There are also 15 extra seats which go to the largest party in the Senate, a relic of the Rossi era’s majority bonus. There are also 7 recognized observers to the Senate, 4 from federally recognized indigenous tribes [1], 2 from the Flatey Islands [2], and 1 from the Free Cities of Louisbourg [3].
 
The apportionment process is an important one. Loronia has a national census which is undertaken every 15 years. With the national census, seats are redistributed. This is the current distribution of seats, as of the 2012 census.

Avalon: 25

St. Bernard: 50

St. George: 46

Delta: 46

Revermont: 68

Nopuel: 15

Kegatin: 29

Pentin Province: 50

Ménevie: 34

Marcheterre: 56

Reichenbach-La Confédération: 20

Yvrac: 45

Tavan et Tagge: 2

L'Ouest: 9

Putlapa: 3

Australie: 1

Notusie: 1


After the seats are distributed, boundaries are determined for the constituencies by standing commissions, which vary across the provinces, but which must be nonpartisan. These commissions determine the shape of the constituencies, which determines the number of members. Under Part 7 of the Loronian constitution, constituencies should be at least 5 members in size, barring an extremely compelling interest otherwise, based in a strong distinct community. This is sometimes abused, as very small communities, like some of the islands in Nopuel and Kegatin, essentially have FPTP elections.



[1] Three indigenous groups have special rights of autonomy under Federal Statute as “respected subnational states”: The Tsoetsoen Kingdom in St. George and Marcheterre, the Mumunyik Confederation of far southern Notusie and Australie, and the Lac Mun Kyngunyik Royal Republic in central Notusie. The Pecpo people of Nopuel, Kegatin, and Revermont elect an observer but do not have organized government. Other indigenous groups are recognized but their governments are interfaced with on the provincial level; they don’t have a separate relationship with the federal government. Because Native Loronians can’t vote in both Observer elections and in Senate elections, these indigenous observer seats are usually held by radical traditionalists or by machine politicians.

[2] The Flatey Islands are a small chain in Revermont Bay, with a population of around 23,000. The islands were historically controlled by the French. They were purchased by the Loronian government in the 1880s and were administered as a territory by the Free Cities of Louisbourg (Villes Libres de Louisbourg), which is discussed more below. After the Free Cities were largely dissolved in 1921, Flatey was given to Pentin Province, an awkward fit. In 1980, a successful initiative gave them an observer. Unlike the native groups, Flatey can vote for its observers and in the Pentin provincial elections, where they are part of the Pentin North constituency.

[3] The Free Cities of Louisbourg is a peculiar entity. During the early English colonization of St. George, the French had several forts along the Nesselac river on the eastern periphery of the colony. These were never formally incorporated as a separate colony but they were administered separately, even after St. George was incorporated into France, and again after Nessalac was formed as a separate colony--it was a useful tax dodge. After Independence, they were put under Nesselac authority but had the rights to set and collect their own taxes, and elect their own assembly to set those taxes. Currently, that right has been curtailed to setting their own property and sales taxes. The Free Cities of Louisbourg includes the City of Louisbourg du Sud in Delta and Louisbourg de les Forêts de Nessalac, which is coextensive with the 5ème Arrondissement of Pentin. As for Flatey, residents can vote in their provincial constituency and in the Observer election.

[MASHED POTATOES. VOTE!]

This is going to be cool.

[Fascism Must Be Defeated]

This is going to be cool.

Thanks Kal! Let me know if you have any questions!

Here are the results of the 2017 election. The first map is of the largest party by constituency:



Red is L'Equipe; Blue are the Conservations; Cyan are the Democrats; Green are the National Liberals; AP is Yellow and IP is orange. Grey=Independent lists.

The second map is of largest ideological bloc:



Red is left, Blue is right, Green is center. Dark shades indicate a total sweep of a seat. The Purple seat is a tie between left and right. The sea green in Revermont is a tie between the center and right; while in Kegatin that represents a three-way tie.

As you can see, the right does well in the South/West and in the Northeast, while the left does well in the Northwest and center of the country. Libs rule the east.

Now I'm going to go through the constituencies fairly exhaustively.

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First: the Northwest region, starting with Avalon.



Avalon is allocated 20 seats; a smaller province. Nevertheless, the province is quite dense and urbanized, with big cities and many large towns, particularly along the Hayward River. There’s two main cities: Knoxton, which is in the far north on the Bentanese border along the Hayward River, and the provincial capitol Rochefort, which sits along the Cacamuna River in the center of the province. It’s divided into 10 counties and cities, which are strong and important communities.



Avalon has a history of heavy industry, particularly textiles and steel. It also is a major center historically for meat and poultry processing. Most of these industries have declined and the population with it. Nevertheless, they’ve left their mark politically, in the form of strong unions and a left-wing political culture which spans the province



Avalon is an awkward state to start with. It’s awkward because it has a unique regional political scene distinct from the rest of the country. Around 65% percent of the provinces population is Anglophone [4], and they have distinct ethnic identity and largely don’t vote for the Francophone parties. Anglophones have a history of oppression and poverty under the Loronian state, particularly under the Rossi regime. In Avalon, there are two Anglo parties: AP (originally called the Anglophone Party and then the Avalon Party, now the acronym means nothing) and the Independent Party. Both parties are nationalist; AP skews leftist and has historically been more “civic-nationalist”, while the IP is center to center right and sometimes has a bit of a xenophobic and francophobic undercurrent. Both parties are a little incoherent on independence; presently AP supports “constitutionally guaranteed sovereignty within the Loronian state and official anglophone home rule,” while the IP supports “complete Avalonian independence in association with the Loronian state.” Currently all Anglophone MPs, except Heather Scalise (PPC-East Knoxton and Cacamuna) are members of AP or the IP.


L’Equipe is the party of choice for Francophones (and Allophones, not that there are very many in Avalon). The PPC also does well in blue-collar francophone areas, like the city of Beaujolais and North Knoxton. The PC is very marginal, and the PD even more so.



There are, as mentioned above, four constituencies. The first is East Knoxton and Cacamuna (II) . It includes the Eastern Anglophone half of Knoxton, the anglophone western sliver of Border County, and most of Cacamuna County. East Knoxton is very working class, with some immigrants, especially from Anglophone Southern Africa. Cacamuna County is filled with old mill towns, clustered around the Hayward River. It’s the most proletariant constituency in the province, and the most Anglo. These two areas are AP’s heartland; they have 3 seats here. The IP has 1 and the PPC has 1 two, largely off of immigrant and francophone voters.



Knoxton Ouest and Queen Anne (IV) is the second constituency. It’s based in bourgeois francophone West Knoxton, with a few poorer Franco and Anglo neighborhoods on its eastern edge. It also includes the large southern “suburb” of Queen Anne, which includes densely urban and suburban areas, as well as exurban Queen Anne County in the far south. Knoxton Ouest and Queen Anne is a very Francophone constituency; only Queen Anne County has a sizable anglo presence, and they’re a little under half of the population. This constituency is also the most affluent constituency in the state, as Western Knoxton is quite posh. Queen Anne City is a bit mixed in social class, but the exurbs in Queen Anne County, plus hippie dairy farm type areas reinforce the rich vibe. L’Equipe has 2 seats, while the PPC, AP, and the IP have a seat each.



Rochefort (I) is the third. This constituency is city of Rochefort, as well as Parallel County to its west. Rochefort, unlike most of the province, was not too industrial, as it’s situated on the Cacamuna river rather than the Hayward, and thus more difficult to transport coal to. As a result, it never attracted a large francophone population from elsewhere. As a result, it’s seen as a citadel of Avalonian nationalism. It’s also a center of learning; the English University of Avalon is here. Because industry was weaker here, the IP does better, with 2 seats. AP takes 2 too, while L’Equipe gets just one.



Bartleby-Beaujolais (III) is final constituency. It’s centered in the city of Beaujolais, which is south from Rochefort on the Hayward. Beaujolais was a massive industrial center and is the traditional “third city” of Avalon. However, it has been hit very hard by deindustrialization and is now the 6th largest commune in the province, after Knoxton, Rochefort, Queen Anne, Fieldstreamville (in Cacamuna County, with some exurban Knoxton presence) and Tazewell, a suburb of Rochefort. Beaujolais is mostly francophone. The rest of the constituency is diverse; it’s a bit of a miscellaneous category, including Tazewell County, fishing villages on the coast, some mill towns along the Hayward, and the Knoxton exurbs in Border County. It’s majority Anglo but not by a lot. Tazewell County is mostly Francophone, the coast is mixed, and the interior is Anglophone. L’Equipe, the PPC, and AP take 1, while IP takes 2.

[4] Anglophone nationalists prefer the term “Avalonian” to refer to the Anglophone people of Avalon and St. Bernard; however this use is sometimes seen as offensive to Francophone residents of Avalon Province. I use Anglo(phone) here for clarity, though the English Catholics of Delta, for example, are usually not included in Avalonian nationalism and have a Loronian cultural and ethnic identity.

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St. Bernard is a simpler. Although there is a small Anglophone Avalonian-nationalist minority in the Little Rock Valley, the large majority of St. Bernard is Francophone. St. Bernard is dominated by the city of the same name, which lies on the coast. It’s one of the largest cities in the country, and its large suburbs of Reichenbach, Portage, and Étienne Fischbach are some of the biggest in the nation. The interior can be divided into two regions: the hill country near the coast, centered around the Little Rock Valley, and the Western Plains, which are a combination of industrial towns in the north and more agricultural areas to the south. The interior is very flat and “midwestern.” It’s allocated 50 seats, largely due to the city.

Much like Avalon, St. Bernard has a history of heavy industry, as well as naval industries leading to left-wing support. Additionally, St. Bernard City has several universities and was a center of student activism against the dictatorship, giving it a lefty tilt. Unlike Avalon (where Sectarianism has been sidelined in favor of ethnicity) the religious divide has been important, with the interior being strongly Protestant and St. Bernard City being very Catholic. Although the left-wing parties are competitive in both areas, traditionally the PPC leads among Protestants and L’Equipe wins Catholics. This has changed somewhat recently.

The first constituency is Hayward (G), with 5 seats. Hayward is the eastern and northern half of the province, along the Hayward River as it bends up to the Bentanese Border. The constituency includes Hayward, Calvados, and a portion of Charles X counties. The largest commune is the city of Guillaume, an ex-industrial town on the Bentanese border, but it’s primarily rural. It’s overwhelmingly Protestant and largely Francophone too. As an ex-industrial Protestant area, it’s no surprise that it gives most of its votes to the left: L’Equipe 2, PC 1, and the PPC gets 2.

The second is Noutsa (F), with 5 seats. It’s the center of the province, and it includes Noutsa County. Part of Charles X and Étienne Fischbach are included too. The largest town is Noutsa, but the Étienne Fischbach portion has some weight too. This one is a bit less industrial and more agricultural. L’Equipe has the most seats, with 3; PC and PPC each get 1.

The third constituency is White Rock Valley (E), with 5. The White Rock Valley is the southernmost majority Anglo area, and the people here identify as ethnically “Avalonian.” The region is very remote and saw only light industrialization. It’s by far the most religious Anglophone area in the country; the region’s Protestants are old-school Puritans. They tend to lean to the Anglophone right, in line with the IP. However, there’s also a substantial Francophone minority, who are mostly weekender types from St. Bernard City; they tend to be affluent and socially liberal. As a result, AP and the IP ran on a joint list to weaken vote splitting; however the right of the IP rebelled and formed an independent party list. Currently that list has 2 seats, with the joint Avalon list, the PC, and L’Equipe each winning 1.

Now we enter the St. Bernard metro with the Portage Constituency (D), with 5. The constituency is coterminous with the County and Commune of Portage. Portage is a city north of St. Bernard, historically with a separate existence thanks to some mountains. However, urban growth means that Portage has been swallowed up. Portage has some odd county boundaries and includes the entire St. Bernard coast north of the city, which is very sparsely inhabited. Most of the people in this seat, however, live in Portage’s urban core or in more suburban areas near St. Bernard. It’s a more lower-middle class area, with some wealthy suburbanites and a lot of folks descended from European immigrants. It’s also heavily Catholic. It’s 2 seats for L’Equipe, with 1 each for PC, PD, and PPC.

East St. Bernard, or St. Bernard Est (C) is our next subject, with 10 seats. The income geography of St. Bernard is complex, but this is the richer and whiter of the two city seats. It includes the city proper as well as a bit of Étienne Fischbach, with an area which was old Rossist Italian suburbia. It also has some bougie inner areas, like Contentin and Charlesbourg as well as a few richer universities, namely the Université de Calvados and the Université d’Écublens. There are some poorer areas too, like Mont de Conseil and Collines Boisées. L’Equipe gets 3, PC and PPC get 2, and LV and PD get 1.

West St. Bernard, or St. Bernard Ouest (A) is next, with 10 too. This is a more working class area, with many recent immigrants, especially from Madagascar, Russia, and the DRC. It also include the Université Patriotique Nationale de Saint Bernard, which is a highly renowned school. It’s history of radical activism is part of why the Rossi government fell, and it’s thusly less inclined to right-wing parties. The constituency also has some richer areas, including rapidly gentrifying Notre Dame. L’Equipe and PPC each get 4, with the PC and PD getting 1 each.

Reichenbach City, or Ville de Reichenbach (B) is the County and Commune of the same name, with 10 seats. Reichenbach is really an extension of St. Bernard, with some dense urban areas and some working class suburbs. It’s very working class, but whiter than South St. Bernard. It also includes the port as well as many old factories. L’Equipe, the PD, and the PPC each get 3, and the PC gets 1.

[Fascism Must Be Defeated]

St. George is the next province. St. George is at a bit of a cross-roads geographically and culturally. The western part of the province is rather similar to both St. Bernard and Northwest Marcheterre; a mix of industrial towns and farms dominated by Francophone Protestants. However, the province’s largest city is the City of St. George, located in the province’s eastern panhandle. St. George has an odd history; it sits at the head of the Nesselac Delta and as a result is one of the country’s largest ports. Although it was founded by Protestant Englishmen, the city became rapidly Francophonized after the conquest by the French. St. George’s status as an industrial port attracted massive immigration from Europe, particularly from Italy. The city is often called “The Naples of the South” and is a frequent point of interest for historians who compare it to Italian immigration to the Rio de la Plata area. It was also the home of Rossi, and as a result it was the citadel of authoritarian rule in Loronia. St. George has declined economically and in political influence, but it remains a center of the far-right in Loronian politics. These two ideological constituencies, right-wing Italian Catholicism and populist-left rural Protestantism, have often clashed politically, although the West’s demographic dominance has shored up the left overall.

Carrefour de les Berges is the first constituency (1). It’s centered around the Hayward river, on the border with Bentana. It’s a fairly industrial constituency, and used to be more densely populated than presently. There aren’t really any cities of note, rather there are many large rusting towns along the river. L’Equipe is the largest party here with 3 seats, but the PPC has been gaining quickly, with 2. The PC has 2 and the PD has 1. It should be noted that L’Equipe has more institutional strength in St. George Province than it does elsewhere; the PPC probably would have won this if it were in Marcheterre.

Paradox (2) is named after the Paradox river, which forms the border between St. George and Marcheterre. The Paradox River was named by early English explorers because of its odd location; it’s one of the easternmost tributaries of the Hayward and as a result it’s always been quite remote. The area is filled with low rocky hills, undercut with deep valleys and tall cliffs. As a result, it has somewhat quirky local politics. The area was settled overwhelmingly by German Catholics fleeing the Kulturkampf, and as a result, it has never settled into the tendency of left-leaning Protestantism so typical of the West and Northwest of the country. The PCs get 3, while L’Equipe and the PPC each get 2.

Casimir Périer (3), named after a notable independence leader, is constituted of the city of the same name as well as its immediate suburbs. Casimir Périer is the provincial capital and second city. It’s an old agricultural industries town but with a recent resurgence in economic power due to the large government sector in the city, as there are many federal bureaucratic positions headquartered in the city too. Casimir Périer is the nucleus of the L’Equipe machine in the province; thus L’Equipe gets 4, with one for the PCs, PPCs, and Greens each.

Sousonie (4) is the rural economic heart of the province, and is, not too surprisingly, a lefty stronghold. The area has Protestants galore, a large number of natives (mostly Tsoetsoens or Sousons in French, thus the name) as well as a bunch of remote resort towns east of the Godolphins with a slightly bohemian vibe--influenced by St. Bernard. It’s a parochial place, which explains the strong PC performance here in 2017; the former minister for Defense, Albertine Paouell, was from here. After her untimely death in 2018 from a stroke, it should swing big time to the left. L’Equipe got 3, PCs got 2, and the PD and PPC each got 1.

Le Bouclier de William et Mary (5) is one of two urban St. George seats. This is the bigger one, with a big hunk of lower class suburbia making it the more left leaning of the two. The right here is more strongly PD leaning, though that isn’t saying much. The left base is mostly Malagasy and Congolese immigrants in a few poor city neighborhoods and banlieues. The PDs get 6, L’Equipe 3, and the PCs 1.

Ile Gatoui (6) is the other bit of the St. George area, consisting of the large delta island of the same name. This constituency is a little more upper class, with the L’Equipe base trending towards the champagne socialist type and a stronger PC performance. PDs get 4, L’Equipe 2, and PCs 1.