Une Nation, Un Gens, Un empereur!
Eine Nation, Eine Leute, Ein Kaiser!
Una Nazione, Une Persone, Un imperatore!
Een Natie, Een Mensen, Een keizer!
One Nation, One People, One Emperor - This was the rallying cry of Western Europe, The rallying cry of an Empire. Never would the eagle of France be harmed by the vermin which swarm the world's continents, no, France would stay above that all, her fierce talons protecting her.
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Julien Louis-Phillipe Napoleon V, L'Empereur, La Imperatore, Der Kaiser, or Der Keizer - In French, Italian, German, and Dutch, respectively, stood above the cheering crowds. Today he was in Paris, tomorrow Brussels. Here he would give the speech that would define European history for the rest of the 20th century. A speech that would define an empire. Thousands stood huddled together along the Champs D'Elysees, their eyes beaming and their mouths cheering as the military procession went on. Children eclipsed in the splendor of it all waved flags frantically, not knowing what exactly they were cheering, but knowing that it was something grand, something magnificent. Old men immersed themselves in the nostalgia of it all, some crying in happiness as the drums beat and the soldiers marched to a tempo.
A familiar verse rang through the air, played by a marching band of Imperial splendor -
Aux armes citoyens! - To arms, citizens!
Formez vos bataillons! - Form your battalions!
Marchons, marchons, - March, march
qu'un sang impur abreuve nos sillons. - Let impure blood and water our furrows
L'Empereur stepped to a stage set up under the shadow of the Arc D'Triomphe. Under its arch were listed Napoleon's great victories, and above it the gilded Imperial banners. Marshalls stood in the backdrop, watching the crowd. Each held the Cross of the
Legion D'Honneur and each stood stoic on the dais, waiting for their emperor to begin his address. And begin he did. The fifth Napoleon was a modest man, he looked much like his grandfather, number three, but dressed much simpler, usually wearing a simple military uniform or formal civilian dress. He stood himself behind a podium and began his speech, and the people silenced themselves. The sight of him commanded them to quell their raging fervor.
"Mon citoyens! France has never been greater. Our armies march through nearly all of Western Europe, and our fleets through the Mediterranean. However, we are at a crossroads. 'Ere we let tyrants and oppressors smash what we have worked so hard to build, or we unite together, as one, under the wings of the eagle that is France! We are beset with enemies not only outside of our borders, but within. Aristocrats and enemies of the revolution who seek to redivide europe into a teeming mess of reactionary states - Anarchists who seek to destroy the fabric of nations, who seek to depose the great Empire of France from her throne atop the world.
To protect ourselves and to preserve this grand nation of ours not only for us but for our posterity I not only call upon Frenchmen, but I call upon all Europeans, be you Dutch, Italian, German, or Spanish. Our world is one teeming with threats and we should not be so caught up in our naivety to think that they do not seek to harm all of us, but just one group. No, to succumb to these threats means for an eagle to succumb to rapacious and filthy rodents who do deserve to be devoured.
Like the grandeur that was Rome, we are beset on all sides by Barbarians. Let us not fall as they did but let us forge ourselves stronger, and let us repel them by the end of a bayonetted rifle.
Again I call on you, Europeans of the Empire, to unite in the presence of danger. No more shall we let our regional differences cloud our mind. Never again shall we be plagued by the internal strife which has torn asunder our fields, and ravaged our countrysides. No, this is not a time for conflict, but a time for bonding, a time to unite under the banner of our common European heritage and show the world that this shall not be a century dominated by false ideaologies but instead it shall be a century dominated by the peoples of Western Europe. The 20th century shall be forever known as the European century!
The Emperor caught his breath, having lost it while caught up in the moment. Tumultuous applause clamoured throughout Paris and the people cheered on the speech.
Raising up his fist above his head, he finished his oratory to captivate the French people;
Now, noble peoples of Europe, I ask you as your emperor, whether you shall now choose to join your brothers in arms, or forever be lost in the annals of history as reactionary cowards. Cowards who would seek to go back to a former time in fear of change. It is time, my friends, to choose your destiny and to secure yourself a place in the grand order of things. Let us all work, work together for this most grand of empires, this European empire
And thus, having finished his speech, a familiar chorus rang out, La Marseillaise, the French national anthem
Que veut cette horde d'esclaves - What do they want, this horde of slaves
De traîtres, de rois conjurés ? - Of traitors and conspiratorial kings?
Pour qui ces ignobles entraves - For whom these vile chains
Ces fers dès longtemps préparés ? (bis) - These long-prepared irons?
Français, pour nous, ah! quel outrage - Frenchmen, for us, ah! What outrage
Quels transports il doit exciter ? - What methods must be taken?
C'est nous qu'on ose méditer - It is us they dare plan
De rendre à l'antique esclavage ! - To return to the old slavery!
Amour sacré de la Patrie - Drive on sacred patriotism
Conduis, soutiens nos bras vengeurs - Support our avenging arms
Liberté, Liberté chérie - Liberty, cherished liberty
Combats avec tes défenseurs ! (bis) - Join the struggle with your defenders
Sous nos drapeaux, que la victoire - Under our flags, let victory
Accoure à tes mâles accents - Hurry to your manly tone
Que tes ennemis expirants - So that in death your enemies
Voient ton triomphe et notre gloire! - See your triumph and our glory!
