| FLQ Crisis | |||||||||
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 The flags of communist Canada, the FLQ, and Saboria are raised in front of the National Assembly House following the FLQ's takeover of Eterna (Férin). | |||||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||||
 Disparu |
 Front de libération du Québec
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| Commanders | |||||||||
| Cynthia Celeste †
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Geneviève Robertson
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The FLQ Crisis refers to a series of terrorist attacks conducted from 1 July 2011 to 11 October 2011 within Disparu by a reincarnation of the nationalist far-left Front de libération du Québec (Quebec Liberation Front), more commonly known as the FLQ.
The crisis began when the Eterna Stock Exchange in Eterna (now known as Férin) fell to the ground (described as a "literal stock market crash") after it was destroyed by bombs and fireworks secretly implanted within the building. The crisis reached its climax upon the forceful takeover of Eterna by the FLQ and its subsequent declaration as a sovereign state by the FLQ. The crisis came to an end when FLQ forces were defeated by the Disparuean Forces' Special Operations.
Even though Disparu had successfully managed to crush an attempt to directly destroy its sovereignty, the aftermath of the crisis indirectly fuelled the formerly apathetic public's scrutiny of Government actions, which in turn caused the fall of Disparu.
Background[]
The original FLQ waslololol a nationalist and Marxist-Leninist terrorist group active from 1963 to 1970. The FLQ launched attacks in waves, bombing targets deemed to be sympathetic to the Anglophone community within Quebec.
The group's efforts reached its climax during the October Crisis of 1970, when the FLQ kidnapped British Trade Commissioner James Cross and Labour Minister Pierre Laporte. Their kidnapping prompted Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau to use the War Measures Act, resulting in the widespread deployment of Canadian troops within Quebec. Laporte was found dead in the trunk of a car, while Cross was found alive two months later.
The enactment of the War Measures Act during the crisis, and what seemed to be the declaration of martial law throughout Quebec, was perceived to be extreme by many people within Quebec, which resulted in many riots and acts of civil disobedience throughout Quebec. This period of chaos, which began to spread in neighbouring provinces and states, eventually led to the establishment of Saboria and communist Canada. Note that supporters of the Saborian and communist Canadian state, who espoused a technocratic and rational communist state, were not connected to the FLQ, who supported Quebec nationalism.
The second reincarnation of the FLQ, which sparked this crisis, was influenced by the actions and ideas of the original FLQ. The second FLQ believed that the Disparuean Government, while managing to establish an independent Québécois state, did not support the preservation of French culture within the nation. The FLQ also felt that parties such as the Parti Français were not politically effective to protect Disparu's culture. Thus, in order to protect French culture within Disparu, the FLQ resorted into violent tactics to achieve their goals.
Crash of the ESE[]
A frame from a video clip of the Eterna Stock Exchange's destruction. This was recovered from the Exchange's rubble.
On the eve of 1 July 2011, which coincidentally would have been Canada Day had Canada still existed, the Eterna Stock Exchange was destroyed by a series of explosions and fireworks as Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture played in the city's emergency broadcasting systems. The entire city was immediately placed under lockdown following the incident to prevent those responsible from escaping Eterna (now known as Férin). Meanwhile, emergency personnel began assisting those who were injured from the blast and sifted through the rubble to retrieve dead bodies. There were six confirmed deaths and forty-two confirmed injuries from the incident. The lockdown was downgraded to a state of heightened alert after the Disparuean Forces’ Land Force Command (now known as the Army) dispatched thousands of troops into the city to prevent another incident. The Government also launched a preliminary investigation into the incident in order to determine who was responsible for the Exchange's destruction. The investigation suspected a terrorist attack, which was somewhat proven a few days later.
The Exchange's destruction caused Disparu to fall into a state of shock. The incident also caused a minor recession in Disparu, which prompted the Government and J Andres to inject millions of dollars into the economy to prevent it from collapsing. The Disparuean dollar was also temporarily pegged to the Anchor, J Andres's currency. The incident also caused a few protests from Disparu's far left groups, as well as riots in some cases.
DNN Takeover and Broadcast[]
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The flag of the second incarnation of the FLQ. The gold-fimbriated red star on the original flag used from 1968 to 1971 had been replaced with the Saborian Chairman's seal.
On 3 July 2011, a group of sleeper agents working for the DNN (supposedly led by Giles St. Danoche, a FLQ commander) hostilely took over the network's station in Jubilife by neutralizing its staff with illegally-obtained firearms. Fortunately, a member of DNN's staff managed to alert the city's police about the situation, and police officers immediately rushed to the scene. They were blockaded by several armed men wearing balaclavas and had a firefight with them. Meanwhile, other sleeper agents took control of the station's broadcasting equipment and made an unauthorized broadcast in French. The broadcast, which featured a man wearing a balaclava, was seen through televisions and heard through radios within range of the station, as well as seen through the Internet. The broadcast essentially claimed that the FLQ was responsible for the Exchange's destruction. The broadcast also gave a summary of the FLQ's history and goals, and also made several attacks against the Government and its policies. The broadcast also encouraged viewers to head to the Black Mesa Research Facility, a scientific facility in the province of Nunavik (in northern Disparu), on 15 July 2011 to 'give them [the Government] a revolution that will never, ever be forgotten'. The broadcast ended with the motto of Saboria and communist Canada, Sanum cogito supra omnis ("Rational thinking above all").
The agents who took over the station managed to evade and escape the police through the two news helicopters situated on the office's rooftop. The helicopters went into two different directions, and each was pursued by several military helicopters. Each rogue helicopter landed on a clearing. When the military caught up and sent an operative to investigate, the helicopters were found to be empty and then exploded, resulting in more deaths.
The amount of protests and riots in Disparu increased in a short amount of time following the broadcast. The political tension in the country also began to rise, due to the fact that explosives were being planted in the headquarters and constituency offices of the Empire, Green and Democratic Party. Threats were also sent to the members of the aforementioned parties, which caused dozens of members from these parties to resign and become independent, or quit politics altogether. The Communist and French parties were suspiciously immune to the attacks, which alienated the public from them. This, in turn, caused members from these parties to also resign. Both parties insisted that they were not, in any way, connected to the FLQ; it would take several inquiries to finally confirm this lack of connection.
Meanwhile, two federal investigations were launched by the Government. The first one, the Royal Inquiry into the Eterna Stock Exchange Terrorist Attack (RI-ESETA) was tasked with the Exchange's destruction, while the second one, the Royal Inquiry into the Hostile Terrorist Takeover of the Disparu News Network Office in Jubilife (RI-HTTDNNOJ), was tasked with the incident in Jubilife. Both Royal Inquiries managed to get a lot of information about the incidents, though the latter had been more successful in terms of how many perpetrators had been caught.
Black Mesa Tragedy[]
The facade of the Black Mesa Research Facility's weapons research complex in Nunavik. Despite its derelict appearance, it is actually operational.
On 15 July 2011, a large amount of protesters, as well as a handful of journalists, had gathered in front of the Black Mesa Research Facility. The Government had prepared for this event, in case of another dangerous incident, by sending troops to protect the Facility and its surrounding areas. Journalists covering the crowd noted the unusual number of balloons present during the protest.
At first, nothing was happening. Protesters and military personnel alike thought that the FLQ was just bluffing when they made the broadcast. But then, some of the protesters began releasing unusually large balloons (which turned out to be weather balloons filled with napalm in the ensuing investigation). Other protesters who had normal-sized balloons followed suit, and soon the sky was filled with multi-coloured balloons. Suddenly, shots were heard from the crowd, and the larger balloons in the sky started exploding. The Facility's troops responded by rushing at the crowd to neutralize those who were shooting at the balloons. In turn, the crowds responded by assaulting the incoming troops. A fight started between the two sides, and the troops detained eighteen protesters in total, though witnesses claimed there were more. Several protesters also filed complaints against the Disparuean Forces after the protest, citing 'brutality' as the main complaint. As the two sides fought, a news helicopter above suddenly exploded after hitting a rigged balloon and sucking in several other ones. The helicopter crashed into another helicopter as it fell, and exploded in a huge fireball as it crashed into the ground. The explosion caused the death of the helicopters' crew and several protesters. The entire incident was referred to as the 'Black Mesa Tragedy'.
Assassination of Cynthia Celeste[]
Cynthia Celeste, the second Chancellor of Disparu. She was assassinated by a FLQ agent on 18 July 2011.
On 18 July 2011, a FLQ agent later identified as Giles St. Danoche managed to sneak in a firearm into the Chancellor's press conference about the Black Mesa Tragedy at the New Parliament Building. St. Danoche was able to sneak it in by hiding it in a lead-lined briefcase. He was going under the guise of a journalist, having obtained a journalist pass several weeks prior while working for the DNN (St. Danoche allegedly led the DNN station's takeover).
After Chancellor Celeste finished her conference and began to take questions from the press, she was shot by St. Danoche at point-blank range. The assassin was quickly brought down and detained by the Judicial Police, while Celeste was rushed to the nearest hospital. Unfortunately, Celeste had lost a significant amount of blood at that point and died before the arrival of emergency services. The assassination was condemned by many nations such as J Andres, the Sarnungian Republic, the Imperial Hudson Reich, the United States, and, oddly enough, the Great Lakes Provinces.
Celeste was replaced by Rowan Atkin, an Empire Party member who was the Executive Triumvir at that time. Atkin immediately declared a state of national emergency over Disparu, which was essentially a stronger version of a lockdown, and commissioned a Royal Inquiry to investigate Celeste's assassination. Atkin also swore to hunt down those who perpetrated Celeste's assassination and the crisis.
Takeover of Eterna[]
On 23 August 2011, the FLQ launched a coordinated attack against the city of Eterna (now known as Férin). Three of the five Land Force Command battalions that were stationed in the city, the Almian Provincial Guard, the 1st and 3rd Eterna Battalions, were caught off-guard and were completely disorganized as the FLQ swept through the city. The city's outer residential sectors were quickly overrun by terrorist forces before encountering stiff resistance from the 2nd and 4th Eterna Battalions, which were more prepared, at the city core. As firefights broke out throughout the two sectors and above the city, important Government officials, such as Legislative Trumvir Paul Berlitz, Mayor Platina Berlitz, and members of the Almian Legislature, as well as hundreds of civilians, were safely evacuated out of the city. Soon, however, the FLQ made a decisive victory when the FLQ managed to capture Eterna Airport, gaining control of the city's airspace. The military soon began to retreat to the adjacent SkyCity, where they would remain until the city's liberation, and the entire city fell into the FLQ's hands.
Upon Eterna's capture, the FLQ, headed by Geneviève "Jay" Robertson, an FLQ Field Commander and the wife of the assassin who murdered Darach, set up its headquarters at the Old Parliament (now known as the National Assembly House) and began to control the city's various institutions and utilities. Bridges were destroyed, the emergency broadcast system was taken over, remaining Government officials and officers were arrested, the DNN's headquarters was used to broadcast the FLQ's propaganda, and the city was renamed to Ferinh, its original name. According to eyewitnesses, a lockdown was also imposed over the city to control its civilians.
On 6 September 2011, Robertson used the DNN to broadcast her declaration of secession from Disparu, and the establishment of the Technocratic Commune of Nouveau Saboria. Her speech was followed by a series of fireworks, the raising of the FLQ's, communist Canada's and Saboria's flags, as well as The Internationale.
| “ | Good evening, comrades, and those who are observing our glorious revolution outside of our fair city. To the denizens of Ferinh, I would like to thank you for your cooperation, your bravery and your faith for our noble goals. Your sacrifices, endeavors and legacies will not be forgotten once our glorious Utopia reaches sea to sea. As for our international observers, I wish to present to you the epitome of a revolution by the people. You see, we have been struggling ever since the days of the original Canada over forty years ago. We were satiated a bit when Sarkara and the others rebelled against the old Canadian government and established Saboria, which had semblances of an earthly Utopia, hence our activities were subsided during his time. However, our great struggle was once again sparked upon the great state’s collapse, and we once again found ourselves in the same position we were in fifty years ago. Since the will of the people is impossible to bottle up, even for an oppressive government such as the Disparuean Government, we were able to rise up after years of hard work, dedication, determination and sacrifices by the common people and the FLQ, the people’s will finally triumphed and overpowered the destructive obsessions of the Government. The people once again blissfully set out to complete the glorious and splendid task of building a socialist paradise for the workers of the world. We may only have Ferinh today, but tomorrow and forevermore we shall move onward, so that our dream of an earthly paradise reaches all corners of the globe, and even the farthest reaches of the space-time continuum itself! This is why I, Geneviève Robertson, Vanguard of the Glorious Revolution, Commander of the Front and the Grand Director of the People’s Government, hereby declare the existence and establishment of the Technocratic Commune of Nouveau Saboria! | ” |
Following Robertson's speech, the Technocratic Commune's government was formally established. A pseudo-legislature known as the "People's Hall" was composed of Robertson as the Grand Director, the Council of Praetors, or the highest-ranking agents of the FLQ, the Democratic Council, or the remaining lower-ranking agents of the FLQ who were supposedly elected by the people of Ferinh to represent them, and finally, the People’s Council, or the citizens of Ferinh who were invited to participate in the Hall’s debates. Various FLQ agents as well as citizens have claimed that Robertson, in fact, controlled most of the Commune's decisions, and the People's Hall was merely ceremonial. Nevertheless, the People's Hall first debate was about the establishment of the Collective Agricultural Program, which mandated that the Center Tower’s indoor park and gardens should be converted into a collective farm to make the city more self-sufficient. The program was opposed by a majority of the city's residents.
Liberation of Eterna[]
A photo released by the Disparuean Forces of the nuclear detonation above Eterna on the night of 11 October 2011.
The FLQ's regime in the city was finally brought down on midnight, 11 October 2011. Prior to this, a helicopter was seen departing the city, before it was shot down by an unknown source. It was reported that FLQ commander Jean Durocher was on board the helicopter and was attempting to escape the city. The debris from the helicopter has not been found.
After midnight, a nuclear weapon was detonated high above the city in order to disable its electronics, therefore putting the FLQ at a disadvantage, before troops from the Disparuean Forces' Special Operations branch stormed into the city. The FLQ was brought down in a matter of hours, while all of its agents in Eterna, including its leadership, were arrested and transported to the Almia High-Security Penitentiary. They were tried for high treason, among other things. Celebrations broke out in the city when morning came, despite the fact that a lockdown had been imposed due to the city's state. Over the next few months, the city would be reconstructed while its citizens returned to their lives before the takeover.
The controversial methods used to retake Eterna has been criticized by many politicians, organizations, and members of the public. The nuclear detonation was described as "over the top", and the military had been accused of targeting buildings within the city at random, rather than at strategic points. The military has defended their actions, noting that "it was necessary to bring down the FLQ as soon as possible."
Investigations into the FLQ have suggested that the group may have had a "ringmaster" that orchestrated the group's actions. This person is most likely still at large.
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