Andrien Duchamps

His Excellency Andrien Duchamps
4th President of the Brissiac Republic
In office March 22nd, 1968 – June 20th, 1984
Prime Minister	Jean-Pierre Pourchon (1968-1974), Simon Theron (1974-1984)
Preceded by	Nicolas d'Gard
Parliamentary group	Brissac Union Party
Brissac Assembly
In office 1960–1968
Parliamentary group	Brissac Union Party
Constituency	Saint-Paul 8th
Personal details
Born	(1921-03-04)March 4, 1921
Died	September 13, 1994(1994-09-13) (aged 73)
Political party	Brissac Union Party
Spouse(s)	Aliénor Duchamps
Residence	House of State
Alma mater	Laeralsford College of Political Studies

Andrien Duchamps was the fourth and final President of the Brissac Republic before its incorporation into Kolda in 1984. Although originally considered an establishment of the system of Arrivee rule of Kolda, was considered a reformer in his later years as he negotiated with the Kolda Liberation Front during the later years of the Koldan War. In his early career, Duchamps served in the Moudjerria Revolt against the Jayesh Al'ajdad.

Early Life

Born Andrien Jean-Paul Duchamps in rural Côte d'Argent Province in Laeral to a landowning family, Duchamps and his family left the country when he was only 4 years old as the Republican Era brought upon land reforms that threatened the wealth of the Duchamps family. The family was soon given a plot of land in the Moudjerria Region that had previously been occupied by native farmers before 1920. Duchamps wrote about growing up in the small town of Bonneville D'eau in his autobiography "Visions of a State". He described the town as "an oasis of light, in the darkness of the dry plans". In 1932, Bonneville D'Eau was raided by the armed forces of Jayesh Al'ajdad, or "Army of the Ancestors". Accounts differ on the events of the raid, with Duchamps claiming a dozen settlers were brutally killed. Although documents in Arabic from the time describe simply stopping by the town and intimidation of locals converts of the Church. Either way, Duchamps was living with his uncle, Frédéric Duchamps in Saint-Paul by 1934. Duchamps attended the well-known L'Ecole des Garçons de Saint-Paul until 1938, when upon hearing of the Moudjerria Revolt, reportedly snuck out of his dorm and rode across the country to take up arms.

Miltary Career

In April 1938 Duchamps joined the settler militia the "Blue Coats". Duchamps first saw combat at the Battle of Khenifa, as his unit took control of a settlement that had been occupied by the Jayesh Al'ajdad. Soon afterward, the Blue Coasts were attacked by armed cavalry forcing them into a nearby stone fort. According to Duchamps, his unit held on to the fort for 8 hours before native Tirailleurs overwhelmed the Jayesh Al'ajdad. Eventually, Duchamps was promoted to colonel as the Blue Coats were absorbed into the Brissican Army. Through 1939, Duchamp's unit raided a number of native villages taking large amounts of prisoners. Duchamps was involved in the Battle of Lennes, where a large force of Jayesh Al'ajdad attempted to capture the city of Lennes. At the battle, Duchamps made a crucial cavalry charge that led to the collapse of the Jayesh Al'ajad position and the eventual defeat of the rebellion a month later. For this Duchamps became a national hero, with his charge being commemorated in national folklore.

Andrien Duchamps leading cavalry at the Battle of Lennes.

Duchamps remained in Moudjerria for the next decade, eventually becoming a military governor from 1949 to 1950. During his time as governor, Duchamps oversaw the expansion of settlement as the region was subdivided into 1-acre squares, creating new settler communities.

Politcal Career

In 1955, Duchamps returned to Laeral to reclaim land lost by his family during the 1920s. After doing so, Duchamps got married and lived in Larelsford for 4 years while attending The Laeralsford College of Political Studies. During this time, Duchamps met with fellow Brissican landowners to discuss economic reforms of the Brissac Republic as well as lobbied for political support. In his book, Duchamps remarked on this period by stating "Everything I did was for Brissac, from my lectures to my apartment to the dimly lit coffee houses". In 1960, Duchamps ran for the Brisscan Assembly from the Saint-Paul 8th for the Brissac Union Party. Duchamps handily beat the incumbent John-Pierre Borne with 65% of the vote. Duchamps entered the Assembly as a member of the government of the BUP. In 1962, Brissac joined Laeral in the Great War although, Duchamps was vocally opposed to the conflict describing it as "a pointless war of empires". In 1965, the Brissac Republic left the Great War after opposition by the BUP as well as Duchamps. In 1966, protests began demanding that non-white citizens be allowed to vote. Duchamps who was the Minister of Defense ordered police to monitor members of the Kolda People's Front including its leader Seynabou Gano. However, after supporters of Gano destroyed a police station in Gunieawaye, Duchamps ordered police to arrest Gano leading to riots in major cities. In response, the military was deployed nationwide, a deployment that would be continuous for the next two decades. In the 1968 Presidential Election, Duchamps ran for President on the ticket of the Brissac Union Party defeating incumbent Frédéric Roussel of the Republic Party.

Presdential Era

Upon his election, Duchamps was met with nationwide protests by working-class Arrivée and the mostly middle-class Lehvantians. The protests demanded voting rights be extended to those regardless of class and race. Fearing a potential rebellion Duchamps made political concessions and established two separate voting rolls. Roll A for Arrivée and Roll B for Lehvantians and Koldar. Although registering to vote required passing a French-proficient exam, a language most Koldar used for communication between ethnic groups. In 1972, the Koldar Congress Party achieved 60.5% of Roll B, however, Roll B was only given 25 of the 107 seats in the Assembly. Adama Dembou, a Koldar activist ran against Duchamps in the general election but only received 21.5% of the vote. During the 1970s, Duchamps expanded the Brissican military modernizing it and establishing patrol areas. In 1973, the Koldar War also known as the Great Alaafiya or "Great Struggle" began with the killing of a group of Arrivee aid workers in the Rivières Region. In response, Duchamps began a series of arrests and the movement of suspected revolutionaries into Les Villes Accusé or "accused towns". However, this only grew support for rebel groups such as the Koldan Liberation Front led by Seynabou Gano. Gano was more radical than his predecessors and actively called for the redistribution of land and the removal of Arrivee from Kolda entirely. In 1976, Duchamps won handly again on his hardline stance while the Koldar Congress Party became the largest opposition-winning 79.5% of Roll B. After the election, Gano began to make territorial gains in the Kendougou-Sabourisse Region leading to Duchamps giving his famous "Separate and Equal States" speech. In this speech, Duchamps called on Koldar moderates to push for the formation of two separate states. Saying the infamous line "one white and one black state separate but equal". After the speech, some more hardline members of the BUP called for him to resign over seeming to give up land to the KLF. In 1979, the KLF captured the city of Gunieawaye with the city Arrivee residents fleeing to the Brissac Region. In 1980, Duchamps was challenged by a Republic Party candidate as well as by the Koldar Congress Party. Duchamps managed to win, although in a plurality with 47.5%. In 1982, generals in Moudjerria began a campaign of bombing villages, however, Duchamps denounced this calling the people of Moudjerria, "innocents". At way this point according to his autobiography Duchamps realized Brissac was going to lose the war. In 1983, he began opening negotiations with members of the KCP to discuss a new constitution, which eventually progressed into the Saint-Nazaire Conference.

Saint-Nazaire Conference

The Saint-Nazarine Conference began in September 1983 in the seaside town of Saint-Nazarine. Duchamps invited members of the Kolda Congress Party as well as members of his own party to attend. Controversially, he did not invite Gano or anyone from the KLF to the conference. Duchamp's main goal for the conference was to create a separate state while also protecting settlers, while the KCP aimed for a multi-racial state with equal voting and political rights. The initial point of contention was political representation in a post-war state, the KCP argued for a proportional parliament, while Duchamps argued this would disenfranchise Arrivee who only made 30% of the population as of 1980. During the second week of the conference, an attack by the Arrivee nationalist group Knights of Saint-Denis who attempted to disrupt the conference was thwarted however 3 security officers were killed. Ironically, when the conference resumed the KCP was more willing to accept "a two-nation, one-republic" solution. At the end of the conference, an agreement was reached. A new constitution would be written for the new country of Kolda once Duchamp's term ended in 1984 however, Brissiac would still exist as an independent region in Southern Kolda. An agreement was also reached that the new Koldan state would "respect existing land rights.

1984 Election

In 1984, the KLF reorganized into Koldan Liberation Front-Union in cooperation with the multi-racial, socialist Union Party. Meanwhile, the Koldan Congress Party nominated Assane Malack who was present at the Saint-Nazaire Conference. Duchamps also campaigned outside of the Brissiac Region, although when visiting Moudjerria his motorcade was attacked by armed gunmen. To this day it's unknown who attempted to assassinate Duchamps, although many blamed Seynabou Gano. In the resulting election, Gano won 35.9% of the vote to Duchamp's 34.5% followed by Malack at 26.5%. Many within the Brissiac Union Party refused to accept the election results, although a week after the election, Duchamps denounced these claims and stated he would accept "the will of this new, unfamiliar nation".

Post-Politcal Career

After the 1984 election, Duchamps moved to a home in the 4th Ardondesmeant of Saint Paul. From there he began working on his autobiography "Visions of a State". Upon its release in 1987, the book became a symbol of Brissiac identity and continues to be required reading through schools across the Brissiac Region. Throughout the 1980s, Duchamps spoke out against Seynabou Gano's land reforms and signed a resolution in 1989 to condemn the reallocation of land in Brissiac, as its political status became debated. Duchamps returned to Laeral in 1991 and met with Laeralian People's Party leaders and spoke at various political events. In 1992, Duchamp moved to his ancestral home of Côte d'Argent and began writing a political novel titled "A Message to Brissiac". However, he died peacefully before the book could be fully completed.

Policy

In his early days, Duchamps was a radical within Brissiac for his view of Brissiac as separate from Laeral. Additionally, Duchamps supported racial segregation and the idea of creating two separate racial states. Academics have theorized that Duchamps feared future political retribution as early as the 1970s. This fear may have influenced his later willingness to negotiate with Koldan moderates. On economic matters, Duchamps was more Conservative with opposition to govermeant spending on socialized medicine and instead de-regulated. Duchamps was also a devout Catholic and suspended the death penalty in 1970 even after pressure to execute captured rebel leaders. Additionally, Duchamps supported Francophone policy and pushed for the standardization of French nationwide.

Legacy

Duchamps was a symbol of Brissiac identity after his death, for the Koldan majority Duchamps was regarded as a symbol of oppression. Upon his death, multiple statues were built across the Brissiac Region. When in 2012, a statue of Duchamps was built outside the Brissiac Cultural Office in New Liverpool, the statue was quickly protested by the Koldan-Slokasian community, and the statue was removed as a safety hazard from the threats of violence. In 1997, the Saint-Paul Airport was renamed Andrien Duchamps International Airport to honor Duchamps, in protest the national carrier of Kolda stopped direct flights until 2017. In recent years, views of Duchamps began to become more positive as "A Message to Brissiac" was released by his estate. In the book, Duchamps criticizes the idea of separated racial states and expresses support for the Koldan moderate Assane Malack.