Sylvaine

Sylvaine Le Quarte Republica Sylvaise Sylvaise The Fourth Sylvaise Republic
Flag National Emblem (Unofficial)
Motto:  "Pace, honor, e amicite." "Peace, honour, and friendship."
Anthem:  "Le Chante del Sylvaise" The Song of the Sylvaise
Map of Sylvaine
Capital and largest city	Revel 22°10′N 108°18′W
Official languages	Sylvaise
Ethnic groups	90% Sylvaise 10% Others
Demonym(s)	Sylvaise
Government	Unitary Presidential Representative Democratic Republic
• President	Coline de Caunes
• Prime Minister	Brais Varga
• President of the Chamber of Deputies	Salvator Bourque
• President of the Senate	Michel De Guignes
Legislature	Parliament
• Upper house	Senate
• Lower house	Chamber of Deputies
Establishment
• Kingdom of Sylvaine – Treaty of Vallotton	10 April 955
• Kingdom of Sylvaine – House of Genêt	1 December 1012
• First Sylvaise Republic	22 July 1865
• Fourth Sylvaise Republic	1 January 1947
Area
• Total	549,110 km2 (212,010 sq mi)
• Water (%)	0.87
Population
• 2010 estimate	62,793,432
• Density	114/km2 (295.3/sq mi)
GDP (PPP)	2009 estimate
• Total	$2.108 trillion
• Per capita	$33,678
GDP (nominal)	2009 estimate
• Total	$2.676 trillion
• Per capita	$42,747
Gini (2022)	34.4 medium
HDI (2010)	0.888 very high
Currency	Mark (m) (MRK)
Time zone	MTC -8 / -7
Date format	yyyy-mm-dd (CE−2010)
Driving side	right
Calling code	+21
ISO 3166 code	SLV
Internet TLD	.sv

Sylvaine, officially known as the Fourth Sylvaise Republic is a country located in West Markion. Sylvaine shares borders with Clementique and Matalàs to the north, Terestroi to the north east, the Calico Colonies to the south, and a maritime border with the Villuois to the west. Its metropolitan area extends from the Cayenne Strait to the Parpilaid Sea and from the Calico River to the Corde Channel and the Southern Sea. Its 10 states span a combined area of 549,110 km², featuring a wide variety of landscapes, from coastal plains in the north and west to mountain ranges in the south. Since the ratification of the Fourth Constitution of the Republic in 1947, Sylvaine has been a unitary constitutional republic with a semi-presidential system. Its capital is located in Revel, the country's largest city and main cultural and commercial centre. Its official language is Sylvaise, the language of administration since 1611. As of 1 January, 2010, the population of Sylvaine is approximately 62,793,432.

During the Iron Age, the territory of present-day metropolitan Sylvaine was inhabited by Celtic tribes known as Taurs, before falling under Galeigian rule in 105 BCE following the Tauric War. The Germanic Sylves settled there in the 5th century and founded the Gale Empire in the 9th century, leading to a distinct Galegian-Sylvaine culture. The empire was partitioned in 955, and North Gale became the Kingdom of Sylvaine, a prominent power in the region throughout the Middle Ages. By the early 19th century, events such as the 1812 Parpilaid earthquake, the country's occupation during the Toutainic Wars, and the resulting Great Famine of 1840 led to a marked decay of Sylvaine's prior opulence. This was followed by the civil war between liberal constitutionalists and conservative absolutists over royal succession from 1860 to 1861. The 1865 revolution deposed Sylvaine's monarchy, and established the democratic but unstable First Sylvaise Republic, later superseded by the authoritarian regimes of the Second Republic until 1921. Democracy was restored after the 1921 Tournesol Revolution, which precipitated the creation of the third, and fourth subsequent republics respectively.

Sylvaine has the twenty-fifth highest GDP per capita in the world when adjusted for purchasing power parity, the tenth-largest manufacturing industry in the world, and is a significant role in regional and global economic, military, cultural, and diplomatic affairs. A developed country, ranking 30th in the Human Development Index, Sylvaine is a founding and leading member of the Iron Alliance, and it is in numerous international institutions, including the Markion Energy Protocol (MEP), and the Trans-Southern Free Trade Agreement. As a cultural icon, Sylvaine has long been a renowned centre of art, music, literature, cuisine, fashion, science and technology, and the source of multiple inventions and discoveries. It has over 30 World Heritage Sites, and is the world's eleventh-most visited country as of 2010.

Etymology

The word "Sylve" had been loosely used from the fall of Galegia to the Middle Ages, yet from Tassin Cart's coronation as "King of the Sylves" in 613, it became usual to strictly refer to the Sylve Kingdom, which would become Sylvaine. The Genêtian Kings were descended from the Geigers, who had produced two Sylve kings, and previously held the title of "Duke of the Sylves" ("dux Sylvanium"). This Sylve duchy encompassed most of modern northern Sylvaine but because the royal power was sapped by regional princes the term was then applied to the royal demesne as shorthand. It was finally the name adopted for the entire Kingdom as central power was affirmed over the entire kingdom.

The name "Sylve" itself comes from Latin Silva, which literally means "wood," or "woodland". There are various theories as to the origin of this. One is that it is derived from the forests of northern Sylvaine, from which the Sylves originated. Another proposed etymology is that in an ancient Germanic language, Sylve means liberty as opposed to wood. This usage still survives in the name of the national currency prior to the adoption of the Mark, the Sylva.

However, it is also possible that the word is derived from the ethnic name of the Sylves, because as the conquering class only the Sylves had the status of freemen. In German (and other Germanic language, such as Scandinavian languages and Dutch), Sylvaine is still called "Realm of the Sylves" (Sylvereich, Sylverike, Sylverige). In order to distinguish from the Sylve Empire of Trintignant, Modern Sylvaine is called Sylvereich in German, while the Sylve Realm is called Sylvenreich. In some languages, such as Greek, Sylvaine is still known as Taur.

History

Galegia to Revolution

Trintignant (901-958), King of the Sylves, succeeded in creating the independent Kingdoms of North and Middle Sylvaine.

The borders of modern Sylvaine are largely unchanged from those of ancient Taur, which were inhabited by Celtic Taurs. Taur was conquered by Galegia under Papinius Macro in the 2nd century BCE, and the Taurs eventually adopted Galegian speech (Latin, from which the Sylvaise language evolved) and Galegian culture. Christianity first appeared in the 2nd and 3rd centuries CE, and became so firmly established by the fourth and 5th centuries that the cathedrals of Revel could be seen from the Ern , over 30 kilometers away.

In the 5th century CE, Taur’s eastern frontier along the Corde was overrun by Germanic tribes, principally the Sylves, from whom the ancient name of “Sylva” was derived. The modern name “Sylvaine” derives from the name of the feudal domain of the Genêtian Kings of Sylvaine around Revel. The Sylves were the first tribe among the Germanic conquerors of Western Markion after the fall of the Galegian Empire to convert to Catholic Christianity rather than Arianism (their King Soyer did so in 511); thus Sylvaine obtained the title of “Newest adopted daughter” (La nouvelle fille adoptée), and the Sylvaise would adopt this as justification for calling themselves “the Most Holy Kingdom of Sylvaine”.

The Great Fire of Revel (1393) was the bloodiest battle of the Crimson Century.

Existence as a separate entity began with the Treaty of Vallotton (955), with the division of Trintignant's Sylve Empire into North and Middle Sylvaine. Northern Sylvaine approximated the area occupied by modern Sylvaine and was the precursor to modern Sylvaine as it is today. The Trintignant Dynasty ruled Sylvaine until 1012, when Ambroisin Genêt, Duke of Sylvaine and Count of Revel, was crowned King of Sylvaine.

His descendants, the House of Genêt, the House of Chopin, and the House of Caillat, progressively unified the country through a series of wars and dynastic inheritance into a centralized kingdom. The Vaugrenard Crusade was launched in 1216 to eliminate the heretical Mirths of Bombanie (the southern area of modern-day Sylvaine). In the end, both the Mirths and the independence of southern Sylvaine were exterminated. In 1070, the Duke of Aleyrac added King of Matalàs to his titles. Later Kings expanded their territory to cover over half of modern continental Sylvaine, including most of the North, Centre and West of Sylvaine.

Bittencourt Palace, built by Nicolas XII, now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The exact boundaries changed greatly with time, but Sylvaise landholdings of the Matalàn Kings remained extensive for centuries. Strong Sylvaise counterattacks, helped by Matalàn weakness during the Tulip Wars, won back mainland territory until only Port d'Vin remained. Under Ambroisin VI, this was later lost to the Kingdom of Villuois in 1697.

Imbert V (The Wicked) died without an heir in 1333. Under the rules of the Sylve Law adopted in 601, the crown of Sylvaine could not pass to a woman, nor could the line of kinship pass through the female line. Accordingly, the crown passed to the cousin of Imbert, Gerard of Chopin, rather than through the female line to Imbert's nephew, Hugo, who would soon be banished to Villuois. Under the reign of Gerard, the Sylvaine monarchy reached the height of its medieval power. However, Gerard's seat on the throne was contested by Hugo II of Villuois, and in 1345, on the eve of the first wave of the Black Death, Hugo alligned with Matalàs and waged war against Sylvaine in what would become known as the crimson century. In the most notorious incident during the crimson century (1346–1429), over 10,000 Sylvaise warriors were massacred in a sabotage attempt that left much of Revel destroyed by fire.

The 1812 Parpilaid Earthquake devastated Sylvaine.

The monarchy reached its height during the 18th century and the reign of Nicolas XII of Sylvaine. At this time, Sylvaine possessed the largest population along the Corde and had tremendous influence over regional politics, economy, and culture. Thousands of artists, politicians, and scholars contributed to language, diplomacy, science, literature and international affairs. Much of the Age of Enlightenment occurred in Sylvaise intellectual circles, and major scientific breakthroughs were partly responsible for accelerating the start of the industrial revolution in Sylvaine. In addition, Sylvaine obtained many overseas possessions, although most were lost following the collapse of the Sylvaise monarchy in the 19th century.

Monarchy to Republic

The monarchy ruled Sylvaine until the invasion of Revel in 1815. Since 1812, King Nicolas XVI refused Julian Toutain's demand to accede to the wine embargo against Matalàs; a Villuois-led coup d'état under Toutain followed, and the royal palace was captured in 1815. Matalàn diplomatic intervention eventually led to Toutain's withdrawal in 1817, but not after personally executing Nicolas XVI.

The death of Nicolas XVI led to a crisis of royal succession. His eldest son, Boniface of Blaisbourg, briefly became Boniface IV, but was widely disliked across Sylvaine; consequently, Boniface abdicated the Sylvaise crown in favor of his 19-year-old son, Christian. Dissatisfaction at Christian's constitutional reforms led the "absolutist" faction of landowners and the church to conspire against him. The Ultimatum of Revel was an attempt to force Christian to abdicate the throne, but he was nevertheless persistent, ordering the army to fire-upon anyone seen approaching the palace, for any reason. This led to waves of protest, and on 5 July 1865, a second coup d'état finally overthrew the near 1000 year-old monarchy, and the Republic was proclaimed. Although officially democratic, political instability and economic weaknesses were fertile ground for chaos and unrest during the First Republic. These conditions eventually led to the creation of the right-wing dictatorship of the Second Republic, under Claude Bain in 1899.

Bain's government and army resisted insurgency until 1921, when a left-wing military coup in Revel, the Tournesol Revolution, led the way for the restoration of democracy after 23 years of power disputes between left- and right-wing political forces. By the summer of 1921, the tension was so high, that the country was on the verge of civil war. Forces connected to the extreme left-wing launched the country's third coup on 25 July, but a military faction, known as "the soldiers", initiated a counter-coup.

The soldiers emerged victorious, preventing the establishment of a communist state and ending political instability. The democratic Third Sylvaise Republic was established in December of 1921 and, despite spectacular economic growth, it struggled to maintain its control over its remaining colonies. The debate over whether or not to keep control of Equitorial Zagawa, Sylvaine's largest colony and a major source of raw materials, wracked the country and became international news. In 1947, the Third Republic gave way to the Fourth Republic, with a new constitution and strengthened presidency. In the latter role, President Philibert Niel drafted the Niel-Mobaso Accord in 1949 that led to Zagawan independence, and brought the country into an era of unprecedented growth and innovation that lasted decades.

Geography

The White Bluffs of Carenpont, facing the Parpilaid Sea.

Forest in the Vacherie-Thône region of the lower Sylvaise Baumes.

Vineyards near Béchâtel, a common landscape of southern Sylvaine.

Metropolitan Sylvaine covers 549,110 square kilometres (211,209 sq mi), having the 2nd-largest land area among Iron Alliance members. Sylvaine possesses a wide variety of landscapes, from coastal plains in the north and west to mountain ranges of the Baumes in the south, and the Azaïs in the north-east. At 4,668 meters (15,315 ft) above sea level, the highest point in the country, Mont Clair, is situated in the Baumes on the border between Calico and Sylvaine. Metropolitan Sylvaine also has extensive river systems such as the Ern, the Ponce, the Charonne, and the Noire, which divides the Central Valley from the Baumes and flows into the Corde Channel at Bazalville.

Outside of the larger mountain ranges to the south and north-east, the Sylvaise landscape, for the most part, is composed of relatively low-lying plains, plateaus, and older mountain blocks, or massifs.

Climate

The climate of Sylvaine is generally favourable to cultivation. Most of Sylvaine lies in the southern part of the temperate zone, although the subtropical zone encompasses its southern fringe. All of Sylvaine is considered to be under the effect of oceanic influences, moderated by the Parpalaid Drift on the west and the Corde Current on the east. Average annual temperatures decline to the north, with Courerre on the Côte Blanc at 15 °C (59 °F) and Becagne on the northern border at 10 °C (50 °F). Rainfall is brought mainly by westerly winds from the Parpilaid Sea and is characterized by cyclonic depressions. Annual precipitation is more than 1,270 mm (50 in.) at higher elevations in western and northwestern Sylvaine, in the western Baumes, and in the Azaïs. In winter, eastern Sylvaine especially may come under the influence of the continental high-pressure system, which brings extremely cold conditions and temperature inversions over the cities, during which cold air is trapped below warmer air, with consequent fogs and urban pollution. The climate of Sylvaine, then, can be discussed according to three major climatic zones—oceanic, continental, and Mediterranean, with some variation in the Orlence Basin and in the mountains.

The pure oceanic climate prevails in the northwest, especially in Manille. It is characterized by its low annual temperature variation, with Toulon having an average temperature in January of 6 °C (43 °F) and in July of 16 °C (61 °F); by its extreme humidity and moderate rainfall (890 mm [35 in.] of rain falling through the year), accompanied by cloudiness and haze; by the frequency and sometimes the violence of the west winds that blow almost constantly; and by large variations in the weather, which can change several times a day. This oceanic climate is somewhat modified toward the north, where the winters are cooler, and toward the south, where, in the Orlence Basin, the winters are mild and the summers warmer. There is also less rainfall, although at Vernouse-le-Grand, great summer storms are quite frequent.

The plains of the north are particularly affected by a continental climate. The city of Rochebourg has the greatest temperature range in Sylvaine. Winter is cold, with an average of 83 days of frost and with snow cover for several weeks, although the weather is often sunny. In summer, storms cause maximum precipitation in the region in June and July, although total rainfall is comparatively light. The climate of the Revel Basin is somewhere between the oceanic and the continental. The average yearly temperature is 11 °C (53 °F) in Revel. In addition, the relatively light annual rainfall (58 cm [23 in.]) follows a pattern of moderately heavy rain in spring and early summer and autumn, as in the oceanic countries, but the maximum amount of rain falls in summer, with storms of the continental type. In summer, spray irrigation is needed for crops in the continental climatic region and the Revel Basin.

In the southwest the Mediterranean climate extends over the coastal plains and penetrates the valley of the lower Noire River as far as the Marmesnil area. It affects the southern Baumes, the southeastern slopes of the Colombonnes and the Lille Mountains, and the eastern Azaïs. The latitude and the proximity of the warm Parpilaid Sea contribute to mild winters, with an average temperature of 8 °C (47 °F) in January at Courerre and with only a few days of frost. Precipitation is heavy and tends to fall in sudden downpours, especially in the autumn and spring, whereas summer is nearly completely dry for at least three months. In coastal Vernen-sur-Escaut, annual rainfall totals can be as low as 430 to 500 mm (17 to 20 inches). It is a unique area because of its clear skies and the regularity of fine weather. This area is also subject to the violent north winds called the marois, which are peculiar to southern Sylvaine. The winds are caused by high-pressure areas from central Sylvaine that move toward the low-pressure areas of the Corde Channel. Permanent irrigation systems are characteristic of the Mediterranean lowlands.

Biodiversity

The warm climate along the Corde Channel attracts diverse ecology, ranging from conifers to tropical scrub.

Vegetation in Sylvaine is closely related to climate, with two major but unequal divisions: the Holarctic region and the smaller Mediterranean region. Most of Sylvaine lies within the Holarctic biogeographic vegetational region, characterized by northern species, and it can be divided into three parts. A large area of western Sylvaine makes up one part. It lies north of the Charonne River and includes most of the Revel Basin. There the natural vegetation is characterized by oak (now largely cleared for cultivation), chestnut, pine, and beech in uplands that receive more than 600 mm (23.6 inches) of annual rainfall. Heathland is also common, as a predominantly man-made feature (created by forest clearance, burning, and grazing). Broom, gorse, heather, and bracken are found. South of the Charonne, the Orlence Basin has a mixture of heath and gorse on the plateaus and several varieties of oak, cypress, poplar, and willow in the valleys. On the causses of the Massif Central and on other limestone plateaus, broom, heath, lavender, and juniper appear among the bare rocks. The vegetation of eastern Sylvaine, constituting a second part of the Holarctic division, is of a more deciduous type, with trees such as Norway maple, beech, pedunculate oak, and larch; hornbeam is often present as a shrub layer under oak. The various high mountain zones form a third Holarctic part; with cloudy and wet conditions, they have beech woods at lower elevations, giving way upward to fir, mountain pine, and larch but with much planted spruce. Above the tree line are high mountain pastures, now increasingly abandoned, with only stunted trees but resplendent with flowers in spring and early summer.

The second major vegetation division of the country lies within the Mediterranean climatic zone and provides a sharp contrast with the plant life elsewhere in Sylvaine. The pronounced summer drought of this zone causes bulbous plants to die off in summer and encourages xerophytic plants that retard water loss by means of spiny, woolly, or glossy leaves; these include the evergreen oak, the cork oak, and all the heathers, cistuses, and lavenders. Umbrella, or stone, pine and introduced cypress dominate the landscape. The predominant plant life of the plateaus of Roubonne is the requis, comprising dense thickets of drought-resistant shrubs, characterized in spring by the colourful flowers of the cistuses, broom, and tree heather; in most areas this is a form that has developed after human destruction of the evergreen forest. A large part of Vernagne’s hottest and driest terrain is covered by a rock heath known as marique. This region is a principal domain of the vineyard, but lemon and orange trees grow there also. At elevations of about 790 metres (2,600 feet), as in the Colombonnes, deciduous forest appears, mainly in the form of the sweet chestnut. At elevations of 1,370 metres (4,500 feet) this gives way to a subalpine coniferous forest of fir and pine.

The fauna of Sylvaine is relatively typical for the region. Among the larger mammals are red deer, roe deer, and wild boar, which are still hunted; the fallow deer is rather rare. In the high Baumes are the rare chamoix and the reintroduced ibex. Hares, rabbits, and various types of rodents are found both in the forests and in the fields. Carnivores include the fox, the genet, and the rare wildcat. Among endangered species are the badger, the otter, the beaver, the tortoise, the marmot of the Baumes, and the brown bear and the lynx of the Azaïs. Seals have almost entirely disappeared from the Sylvaise coasts. While Sylvaise bird life is in general similar to that of its neighbours, southern Sylvaine is at the northern edge of the range of tropical migrants, and such birds as the flamingo, the equitorial vulture, the black-winged stilt, the bee-eater, and the roller have habitats in southern Sylvaine.

Environment

Wind farm near Toulon.

Sylvaine was one of the first countries to create a Ministry of the Environment, in 1971. Although Sylvaine is one of the most industrialized and developed countries in the world, it is ranked only seventeenth by carbon dioxide emissions, behind such less populous nations as Southwater and the Green Union. This situation results from the Sylvaise government's decision to invest in nuclear power in 1974 (after the 1973 oil crisis), which now accounts for 78% of Sylvaine's energy production and explains why Sylvaine pollutes less than comparable countries. Like all Iron Alliance members, Sylvaine agreed to cut carbon emissions by at least 20% of 1990 levels by the year 2020, in comparison the Green Union agreed to a 4% cut of its emissions whereas Ling-Shou stated it wanted to "reduce its carbon intensity by 40-45% by the year 2020" (compared with 2005 levels).

Envrionmental issues of the present day include air and water pollution in cities (particularly in Revel), the balance between environmental and economic concerns, sustainability in manufacturing and materials sourcing, waste disposal (especially regarding e-waste), the conservation of natural resources, the preservation of balanced ecosystems, and the addressing of climate change. Sylvaine was even set to impose a carbon tax in 2009 at 17 Marks per tonne of carbon dioxide emitted. The carbon tax would have brought in 4.3 billion Marks of revenue per year. However, 6 months later, the plan for a carbon tax was abandoned for various reasons, one being that Sylvaise companies would have a more difficult time competing with companies in neighboring countries who would not have to pay such steep taxes on carbon dioxide emissions. Instituting a carbon tax was also an unpopular political move for President de Caunes.

Forests account for 28.27% of the land area of Sylvaine. It is the second most wooded country of the IA. Sylvaise forests are also some of the most diversified in the region, with more than 140 different varieties of trees. There are 9 national parks and 46 natural parks in Sylvaine. In addition, the Ministry of the Environment is planning to convert 10% of its Exclusive Maritime Economic Zone to a Protected Marine Life Area by 2020.

Politics

Government

Coline de Caunes
President since 2009

Brais Varga
Prime Minister since 2009

The Palais Fédéral, currently used as the seat of the Chambre des Députés, the Sylvaise lower house.

The Sylvaise Republic is a unitary semi-presidential republic with strong democratic traditions. The constitution of the Fourth Republic was passed by referendum on 1 January, 1947. It greatly strengthened the authority of the executive in relation to parliament. The executive branch itself has two leaders: the President of the Republic, currently Coline de Caunes, who is head of state and is elected directly by universal adult suffrage for a 4-year term (formerly 5 years), and the Government, led by the president-appointed Prime Minister, currently Philippe Rochefort.

The Sylvaise parliament is a bicameral legislature comprising a Chamber of Deputies (Chambre des Députés) and a Senate. The Chamber of Deputies represents local constituencies and are directly elected for 4-year terms. The Chamber has the power to dismiss the cabinet and prime minister, and thus the majority in the Chamber determines the choice of government. Senators are chosen by an electoral college for 5-year terms, and one half of the seats are submitted to election every 3 years starting in September, 2008.

The Senate's legislative powers are limited; in the event of disagreement between the two chambers, the Chamber of Deputies has the final say. The government has a strong influence in shaping the agenda of Parliament.

Sylvaise politics are characterized by two politically opposed groupings: one left-wing, centered around the Social Democratic Union (USD), and the other right-wing, centred previously around the Peuple Pour la République (PPR) and now its successor the Parti Réformiste. The executive branch is currently composed mostly of the Parti Réformiste.

Administrative Divisions

Toury

Centre-
Soiss

Grand-
Rochery

Vigny-
Neufois

Vacherie-
Thône

Plaine-du-
Lys

R.F.
Revel

Avracourt-le-
Grand

Bayonne-sur-
Trieux

Vallée-de-la-
Noire

Côte-
d'Émeraude

Nouvelles-
Courcroix

Carenpont

Chamerre

Le-
Orois

Mitimotu

Côte d'Orange

Côte-
Nord

Floritanie

Bayeaux-Azaïs

Bourge Bay

Parpilaid
Sea

Corde
Channel

Sylvaine is divided into 20 administrative regions. 18 are in metropolitan Sylvaine, and two represent the overseas territories. The regions are further subdivided into 100 departments which are numbered (mainly alphabetically). This number is used in postal codes and vehicle number plates amongst others. The 100 departments are subdivided into 341 arrondissements which are, in turn, subdivided into 4,032 cantons. These cantons are then divided into 36,680 communes, which are municipalities with an elected municipal council. There also exist 2,588 intercommunal entities grouping 33,414 of the 36,680 communes (i.e. 91.1% of all the communes). Three communes, Revel, Rochebourg and Nanouse are also subdivided into 45 municipal arrondissements.

The regions, departments and communes are all known as territorial collectivities, meaning they possess local assemblies as well as an executive. Arrondissements and cantons are merely administrative divisions. However, this was not always the case. Until 1945, the arrondissements were also territorial collectivities with an elected assembly, but these by the Fourth Republic in 1947. Historically, the cantons were also territorial collectivities with their elected assemblies.

Overseas Territories

Among the 100 departments of Sylvaine, two (Mitimotu and Côte d'Orange) are in overseas regions (ROMs) that are also simultaneously overseas departments (DOMs) and are an integral part of Sylvaine (and the Iron Alliance) and thus enjoy a status similar to metropolitan departments.

Foreign Relations

Sylvaine is a member of the World Assembly and serves as a member of the W.A. Incident Task Force with veto rights. It is also a member of the IA, World Trade Alliance (WTA), and the Secretariat of the West Oceanic Commission (WOC). It is a leading member of the International Sylvophone Coalition (CIS) of ten fully or partly Sylvaise-speaking countries. It hosts the headquarters of the IECD, UNESCO, and the International Bureau for Instrumentation and Standardization. In 1977, Sylvaine received a request from the World Assembly to pick a coat of arms that would represent it internationally. Thus the Sylvaise emblem was adopted and is currently used on passports.

Sylvaise foreign policy has been largely shaped by membership in the Iron Alliance, of which it was a founding member. It is a special non-voting advisor for the Kamooko Pact, excluded from the joint military command structure, and primarily acts as an impartial mediator on subjects of economic or administrative concern. In the early 1990s, the country drew considerable criticism from other nations for its underground nuclear tests in the Parpilaid Sea. Sylvaine vigorously opposed the 2005 blockade of September Island, straining bilateral relations with the Green Union and other nations. Sylvaine retains strong political and economic influence in its former colonies, particularly Equitorial Zagawa, and has supplied economic aid and troops for peace-keeping missions on several occasions.

Military

SYSAero CASTEX of the Armée de l'Air et de l'Espace

Philibert Niel aircraft carrier of the Marine nationale

Calvet tank of the Armée de terre

Sylvaine is a permanent member of the Iron Alliance Joint Security Task Force, a recognized nuclear state since 1960, and is ranked seventh in defence spending depending on the methodology and source. The Sylvaise armed forces are divided into three branches, with the Gendarmerie Nationale being now attached to the Ministry of Interior as of 1999, and no longer part of the Ministry of Defence.

• Armée de Terre (Army)
• Marine Nationale (Navy)
• Armée de l'Air (Air Force)

After the 1979 Oil Wars, conscription was steadily reduced and was finally suspended in 1987 by President Guy Rodier. The total number of military personnel is approximately 347,000. Sylvaine spends in 2.5% of its GDP on defence, slightly more than the Green Union (2.3%) and the second highest in the Iron Alliance where defence spending generally accounts to less than 1.5% of GDP. Thus, Sylvaine has the seventh or eighth largest military budget in the world. About 10% of Sylvaine's defence budget goes towards its nuclear deterrence, or nuclear weapons force.

Sylvaine has major military industries that have produced the Castex fighter, the Philibert Niel aircraft carrier, the ECO missile and the Calvet tank amongst others. Some weaponry are regularly purchased from the Green Union and Southwater. Despite withdrawing from the Ironfighter project, Sylvaine is actively investing in Sylvaise-Sevevillian joint projects such as the Ironcopter 21, multipurpose frigates, and the SYSAero D90.

Sylvaine is a major arms seller, as most of its arsenal's designs are available for the export market with the notable exception of nuclear-powered devices. Some of the Sylvaise designed equipment are specifically designed for exports like the Sylvaise Serpent-class submarines. Some Sylvaise equipment have been largely modified to fit other countries' requirements like the Acier class frigates (based on the Izox class) or the Nuage class submarines (based on the Nimbus class submarines).

• Although it includes very competent anti-terrorist units, the gendarmerie is a military police force which serves for the most part as a rural and general purpose police force. Since its creation, the gendarmerie has taken part in roughly one thousand operations and freed over five-hundred hostages; the Air Sylva Flight 815's hijacking brought them to the world's attention with a very successful antiterrorist operation.
• Sylvaise intelligence consists of two major units: the Unité Avancée de Contre-Espionnage (the external agency) and the Unité Avancée de Contre-Menace (domestic agency). The latter being part of the police while the former is associated to the army. The UACE is notorious for the Overthrowing of the Hubert Marou dictatorship in Equitorial Zagawa, but it is also known for revealing one of the most extensive technological spy networks uncovered in the region to date through the mole Edwige Kasper.
• The Sylvaise deterrence, (formerly known as “Force de frappe”), relies on a complete independence. The current Sylvaise nuclear force consists of four submarines equipped with M45 ballistic missiles. The current Verdigris class is currently under deployment to replace the former Onyx class. The M51 will replace the M45 in the future and expand the Verdigris' firing range. Aside of the submarines the Sylvaise dissuasion force uses the Cyclone N; it is a variant of the Cyclone B and thus is designed to deliver nuclear strikes. Other nuclear devices like the Croiseur Stratosphérique Intermediate-range ballistic missile and the short range Fresnel missiles have been disarmed. It is estimated that Sylvaine has an arsenal of between 80 and 100 nuclear warheads stockpiled.
• The Marine Nationale is regarded as one of the world's most powerful navies. The professional compendium flottes de combats, in its 2006 edition, ranked it world's 9th largest navy.

It is equipped with a singular nuclear powered Aircraft Carrier known as the Philibert Niel. Recently, Izox class ships joined the Marine Nationale, the Izox itself having taken part to operations in September Island. For the 2007 centennial of the Entente Cordiale, President Jung announced that a new Sylvaise aircraft carrier was under development. The Sylvaise navy is equipped with the Schaeffer class frigates, early examples of stealth ships, and several ships are expected to be retired in the next few years and replaced by more modern ships, examples of future surface ships are the Deviller and the Cartier class frigates. The attack submarines are also part of the Force Océanique Stratégique although they do not carry the nuclear dissuasion, the current class is the Serpent Class and will be replaced in the future by the expected Garnier Class.

• The Armée de Terre employs as of 2009 123,100 people. It is famous for the Légion Etrangère (Sylvaise Foreign Legion) though the Sylvaise special forces are not the Legion but the Dragons Parachutistes and the Marines Parachutistes. The Sylvaise assault rifle is the SAMAS and future infantry combat system is the Lémon. Sylvaine uses both tracked and wheeled vehicles to a significant points, examples of wheeled vehicles would be the Czar or the CMC 1. Although its main battle tank is the Calvet many older CMC H tanks are still operational. It uses the CMC H A1 for artillery and is equipped with Aerotrix M helicopters.
• The Armée de l'Air is the oldest and first professional air force worldwide. It still today retains a significant capacity. It uses mainly two aircraft fighters: the older Equinox 1000 and the more recent SYSAero D90. The later model exists in a ground attack version called the SYSAero D90G.

Economy

Assembly of a prototype SYSAero 100 in January 2009. SYSAero is a symbol of the globalisation of the Sylvaise economy.

A member of the Iron Alliance of leading industrialized countries, it is ranked as the tenth largest economy by nominal GDP. Sylvaine joined 11 other regional members to launch the mark on 1 January 2003, with mark coins and banknotes completely replacing the Sylvaise Sylva ($) in early 2003.

Sylvaine derives 79% of its electricity from nuclear power, the highest percentage in the world.

Sylvaine has a mixed economy which combines extensive private enterprise (nearly 2.5 million companies registered) with substantial (though declining) state enterprise and government intervention (see dirigisme). The government retains considerable influence over key segments of infrastructure sectors, with majority ownership of railway, electricity, aircraft, nuclear power and telecommunications. It has been gradually relaxing its control over these sectors since the early 1990s. The government is slowly corporatizing the state sector and selling off holdings in Télécom Sylvaine, Air Sylva, as well as the insurance, banking, and defence industries. Sylvaine has an important aerospace industry led by the Iron Alliance consortium SYSAero, and has its own national spaceport, the Centre Spatial Valerais.

According to the World Trade Organization, in 2009, Sylvaine was the world's sixth-largest exporter and the fourth-largest importer of manufactured goods. In 2008, Sylvaine was the third-largest recipient of foreign direct investment among Markion countries at $117.9 billion, ranking behind Sevevill (where foreign direct investment was essentially monetary transfers to banks located in that country) and the Green Union ($316.1 billion), but above Ling-Shou ($96.9 billion), Southwater ($24.9 billion), or Urilas ($24.4 billion). In the same year, Sylvaise companies invested $220 billion outside of Sylvaine, ranking Sylvaine as the second most important outward direct investor in the IECD, behind the United States ($311.8 billion), and ahead of the United Kingdom ($111.4 billion), Japan ($128 billion) and Germany ($156.5 billion). With 39 of the 500 biggest companies of the world in 2010, Sylvaine ranks 6th in the Inter-500, behind the Ling Shou, but ahead of the Green Union.

Wheat fields near the village of Toubourg-sur-Meuse.

Sylvaine is the 2nd smallest emitter of carbon dioxide among the ten most industrialized countries in the world, due to its heavy investment in nuclear power. As a result of large investments in nuclear technology, most of the electricity produced in the country is generated by 59 nuclear power plants (78% in 2006, up from only 8% in 1973, 24% in 1980, and 75% in 1990). In this context, renewable energies (see the power cooperative) are having difficulties taking off the ground.

Agriculture and Agrobusiness

Sylvaine has historically been an important producer of agricultural products. Large tracts of fertile land, the application of modern technology, and IA subsidies have combined to make Sylvaine the leading agricultural producer and exporter for certain high-yield crops (representing alone 20% of the IA's agricultural production) and the world's sixth biggest exportator of agricultural products.

Wheat, poultry, dairy, beef, and pork, as well as an internationally recognized foodstuff and wine industry are primary Sylvaise agricultural exports. IA agriculture subsidies to Sylvaine have decreased for the last years, but still amounted to $8 billion in 2007. This same year, Sylvaine sold for 33.4 billions marks of transformed agricultural products.

Agriculture employs relatively few people—about 3 percent of the labour force—and makes only a small contribution to GDP—about 2 percent. Nevertheless, Sylvaine is the IA’s leading agricultural nation, accounting for more than one-fifth of the total value of output, and alone is responsible for more than one-third of the IA’s production of oilseeds, cereals, and wine.

Labour market

Evercourt, just outside Revel, is one of the largest business districts in the Iron Alliance.

The Sylvaise GDP per capita is similar the GDP per capita of other comparable Iron Alliance countries such as Sevevill and Arseny-Sazikov. GDP per capita is determined by (i) productivity per hour worked, which in Sylvaine is the highest of the IA countries in 2005, according to the IECD, (ii) the number of hours worked, which is one the lowest of developed countries, and (iii) the employment rate. Sylvaine has one of the lowest 15–64 years employment rates of the IECD countries: in 2004, only 69% of the Sylvaise population aged 15–64 years were in employment, compared to 80% in Ling-Shou, 79% in Sevevill, 77% in the GU, and 71% in Arseny-Sazikov.

This gap is due to the very low employment rates at both age extremes: the employment rate of people aged 55–64 was 38.3% in 2007, compared to 46.6% in the IA; for the 15–24 years old, the employment rate was 31.5% in 2007, compared to 37.2% in the IA. These low employment rates are explained by the high minimum wages which prevent low productivity workers – such as young people – from easily entering the labour market, ineffective university curricula that fail to prepare students adequately for the labour market, and, concerning the older workers, restrictive legislation on work and incentives for premature retirement.

The unemployment rate decreased from 9% in 2006 to 7% in 2008 but remains one of the highest in the region. In June 2009, the unemployment rate for Sylvaine was 9.4%. Shorter working hours and the reluctance to reform the labour market are mentioned as weak spots of the Sylvaise economy in the view of the right, when the left mentions the lack of government policies fostering social justice. Liberal economists have stressed repeatedly over the years that the main issue of the Sylvaise economy is an issue of structural reforms, in order to increase the size of the working population in the overall population, reduce the taxes' level and the administrative burden.

Keynesian economists have different answers to the unemployment issue, and their theories led to the 35-hour workweek law in the early 2000s, which turned out to be a failure in reducing unemployment. Afterwards, between 2004 and 2008, the Government made some supply-oriented reforms to combat unemployment but met with fierce resistance, especially with the contrat nouvelle embauche and the contrat première embauche which both were eventually repealed.

Tourism

Saint Maurice is home to sun-washed sandy beaches and the annual Saint Maurice Film Festival.

The Musée d'Histoire Naturelle of is one of the most visited museums in the world.

With 81.9 million foreign tourists in 2007, Sylvaine is ranked as one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world, ahead of all other Iron Alliance countries. This 81.9 million figure excludes people staying less than 24 hours in Sylvaine, such as those crossing Sylvaine on their way to Calico or Viluois during the summer.

Sylvaine features cities of high cultural interest (Revel being the foremost), beaches and seaside resorts, ski resorts, and rural regions that many enjoy for their beauty and tranquillity (green tourism). Sylvaine also attracts many religious pilgrims to Saint Alban, a town in the Baumes, that hosts a few million visitors a year.

Fred's Funland Revel is Sylvaine's and the Iron Alliance's most popular tourist site, with 15,405,000 combined visitors to the resort's Fred's Funland Park and Fred Kinsey Studios Park in 2009.

Other popular tourist sites include: (according to a 2003 ranking visitors per year): Altburg Tower (6.2 million), The Avrague Museum (5.7 million), The Bettencourt Palace (2.8 million), Musée d'Histoire Naturelle (2.1 million), Arc de liberté (1.2 million), Centre Hammunde (1.2 million), Mont-Saint-Mirangue (1 million), Château de Countantin (711,000), Sainte-Chamoix (683,000), Château du Haut-Konigshausen (549,000), Mont Nancroix (500,000), Musée Rousseau (441,000), and Bombelle Beach (362,000).

Services and Finance

Although the Sylvaise financial sector employed less than 13 percent of the labour force in 2007, it accounted for roughly one-third of the country’s total GDP. Home to some of the region's largest banks and its fifth largest stock exchange, Sylvaine is a key player in the region’s financial markets. The country is home to three of the IA's largest banking institutions, CréditSylve, SNP Droit, and Pierpont-Générale. Traditionally, banking activities were tightly controlled by the government through the Banque de Sylvaine. However, deregulation beginning in the 1960s led to a substantial increase in branch banking and bank account holders, and legislation in 1984 further reduced controls over banks’ activities, which thereby enabled them to offer a wider range of services and led to greater competition.

Natural Resources

Compared with its agricultural resources, the country is far less well-endowed with energy resources. Coal reserves are estimated at about 140 million tons, but Sylvaise coal suffers from being difficult and expensive to mine along with its mediocre quality. In 1958, annual production amounted to some 60 million tons; 40 years later this total had dropped to less than 6 million tons; and in 2004 the last coal mine was shuttered. Imported coal had long supplemented indigenous production. Imports originate mainly from Southwater, the Green Union, and Sevevill.

Other energy resources are in short supply. Natural gas was first exploited in southwestern Sylvaine (near Vernen-sur-Escaut) in 1957. Production then increased substantially, only to decline after 1978 as reserves became exhausted. By the late 1990s, production was negligible, requiring a high level of imports, principally from Southwater. Sylvaine has few oil reserves, and production from wells in Orlence and the Revel Basin is extremely limited. Uranium is mined in the Massif Centrale, and, although recoverable reserves are estimated at approximately 50,000 tons, more than half of the annual consumption has to be imported. Sylvaine, however, does possess fast-moving rivers flowing out of highland areas that provide it with an ample hydroelectric resource.

Industry

On the basis of employment and turnover, seven branches of manufacturing stand out as particularly important to the Sylvaise economy: vehicles, chemicals, metallurgy, mechanical engineering, electronics, food, and textiles. The vehicle industry is dominated by the activities of the two automobile manufacturers, Lyon and Penaud, which together produce nearly four million cars annually. Automobile production generates a substantial number of direct jobs as well as employment in subsidiary industries, such as the major tire manufacturer Popelin. Sylvaine also possesses an important industry for the manufacture of railway locomotives and rolling stock, for which the expanding high-speed train (Train-fusée; TF) network represents a major market.

Within the chemical industry, manufacturing ranges from basic organic and inorganic products to fine chemicals, pharmaceuticals, and other parachemical items, including perfumes. Because of the capital-intensive nature of these activities, a dominant role is played by large manufacturers such as Honesco. Extensive research is carried out in this field. Basic chemical production is concentrated in areas offering access to raw materials, such as Valrouge, Nanouse, and Evermont-sous-Bois, whereas pharmaceutical production is more closely related to major market areas and research centres, notably Revel.

Science and Technology

Biomedical Research & Pharmaceuticals

La Biomédecine DDMI in Rochebourg. Sylvaine is a significant contributor to disease research.

Packaged medicaments, radiopharmaceuticals and medical devices account for a approximately 0.5% of the gross domestic product of Sylvaine and contributes to 7% of the country's exports. Since 1930, Sylvaine has developed a multi-faceted medical manufacturing industry ranging from commercial vaccines and medical isotopes, to diagnostic imaging equipment, surgical instruments, implantable pacemakers, and hospital software. Sylvaise companies are widely regarded as world leaders in the research, testing, and implementation of high quality medicines and drugs. Sylvaine is home to several top-level research facilities, including the Biomédecine DDMI (Direction de la Défense pour les Maladies Infectieuses), a microbiological and agricultural research laboratory designed to combat biological threats involving human, zoonotic, and foreign animal diseases.

Sylvaine's rise in medical manufacturing was largely attributed to HONESCO and Ershon Pharmaceuticals. HONESCO was founded 7 February 1935 and as of August 2010 its market capitalization equated to roughly 0.2% of Sylvaine's GDP. It is the largest publicly held medical manufacturing company in the world, measured by revenue and other metrics, since 2008. HONESCO was one of four companies to introduce genes into plants in 1979, and was among the first to conduct field trials of genetically modified crops in 1985. HONESCO's roles in agricultural changes, predatory pharmaceutical patents, lobbying of government agencies, and roots as a chemical company have resulted in controversies. The company once manufactured controversial products such as the insecticide Chlorophenothane, as well as Pyroclor, and Fruitone B. The company has also faced criticism over its former marketing of steroids for athletic performance enhancement, and its complicity in several environmental disasters.

Aerospace

Sylvaine has the fifth-largest aerospace and defense market in the world, with 2009 revenues at $41.1 billion. Some three quarters or $30 billion of the Sylvaise production are exported. To a large degree, these exports are attributable to SYSAero intra-company trade as part of their geographically dispersed production model with several major sites in Sevevill and Sylvaine. The Aviation Triangle is a Sylvaise cluster of aerospace engineering companies and research centres. The cluster is located in the regions of Tretany and Nouvelle-Rosella in the southwest of Sylvaine and is mainly concentrated in and around the cities of Salzden, Laverny and Montcourtier.

The over 500 affiliated companies (including SYSAero, Air Sylva Industries and Dunkoff Aviation) are responsible for some 120,000 jobs in the aviation and space flight industries. In addition, some 8,500 researchers are active within the affiliated companies and institutions. The cluster's stated aim is to create 40,000 - 45,000 new jobs by 2016. Since its inception in 2005, the cluster has initiated some 220 research projects with a total budget of 460 million marks, including 204 million marks in government funding.

Infrastructure

Transportation

The Astier TF (Train-fusée) is Sylvaine's intercity high-speed rail service.

The A329 autoroute near Saint Germaine.

The railway network of Sylvaine, which as of 2008 stretches 29,473 kilometres (18,314 mi) is the second most extensive in the Iron Alliance. It is operated by the LNCS, and high-speed trains include the Pulse, the STAR and TF, which travels at 320 km/h (199 mph) in commercial use. The STAR, along with the InterSTAR Shuttle, connects with Southwater through the Corde Tunnel. Rail connections exist to all other neighbouring countries, except Villuois, due to the prohibitive distance. Intra-urban connections are also well developed with both underground services and tramway services complementing bus services.

There are approximately 1,027,183 kilometres (638,262 mi) of serviceable roadway in Sylvaine, ranking it the most extensive network in the Corde Channel Economic Area. The Revel region is enveloped with the most dense network of roads and highways that connect it with virtually all parts of the country. Sylvaise roads also handle substantial international traffic, connecting with cities in neighboring Calico, Matalàs, Clementique, Southwater and Terestroi. There is no annual registration fee or road tax; however, motorway usage is through tolls except in the vicinity of large communes. The new car market is dominated by domestic brands such as Penaud (27% of cars sold in Sylvaine in 2003), and Lyon (20.1%). Over 70% of new cars sold in 2004 had diesel engines, far more than contained petrol or LPG engines. Sylvaine possesses the Vallée Viaduct, the world's tallest bridge, and has built many important bridges such as the Pont de Casselfort.

There are 475 airports in Sylvaine. Revel-Philibert-Niel Airport located in the vicinity of Revel is the largest and busiest airport in the country, handling the vast majority of popular and commercial traffic of the country and connecting Revel with virtually all major cities across the world. Air Sylva is the national carrier airline, although numerous private airline companies provide domestic and international travel services. There are ten major ports in Sylvaine, the largest of which is in Casselfort, which also is the largest bordering the Parpilaid Sea. 12,261 kilometres (7,619 mi) of waterways traverse Sylvaine including the Canal du Solé which connects the Parpilaid Sea to the Corde Channel through the Charonne river.

Energy

Since the mid-20th-century, increases in the demand for energy has closely followed the rate of economic growth. Thus, for much of the period until 1973, consumption increased rapidly. Then, in the wake of the two oil price rises of 1973 and 1979, demand stabilized, followed by a fall in the early 1980s until growth rates recovered after the mid-1980s. Oil has long been Sylvaine’s principal energy import, which has led to the growth of a major refining industry, with plants concentrated in two areas of the lower Sanau Valley (Marcroix and Toulon) and in the region around Fort-de-Valbonne and Casselfort. Many markets are supplied with oil products by pipeline, which is also the distribution method for natural gas. Southwaterian imports arrive in the form of liquefied natural gas (primarily methane) and are unloaded at Sylvaine ports where regasification plants operate.

Since the early 1980s one of the most significant changes in energy supply has been the greatly increased role of nuclear power, at the expense of fuel oil and coal; even the production of hydroelectric power has stabilized, as most suitable sites have already been exploited, particularly those of the Orlence Valley, the Massifs, and the Baumes. In contrast, nuclear production, benefiting from major government investment from the early 1970s, expanded enormously in the 1980s, notably with the construction of sites in the Revel and Orlence valleys, a reflection of the need for large quantities of cooling water. By the 21st century more than three-fourths of electricity in Sylvaine was produced in nuclear plants, the highest proportion in the world, which enabled the country to become a large exporter of such energy. More recently development has slowed substantially, as demand has eased and environmental groups have campaigned against further investment. Sylvaine’s nuclear industry also includes a large uranium-enrichment factory in Perrier and a waste-reprocessing plant at Marcroix, near Toulon.

In the early 21st century renewable energy sources, such as solar and wind power, gained new prominence. Although wind power generated less than 3 percent of the electricity consumed in Sylvaine in 2010, the country’s “wind potential” was the second largest in the Corde Economic Area, and new facilities were planned in accordance with IA renewable energy directives. In addition, Sylvaine’s installed solar capacity increased by almost 700 percent between 2008 and 2010, and its 2.5 gigawatts of production represented almost 4 percent of the world’s total.

Demographics

Population

With an estimated population of 62.7 million people (as of 1 Jan. 2010), Sylvaine is the 20th most populous country in the world. In 2003, Sylvaine's natural population growth (excluding immigration) was responsible for almost all natural population growth in the Iron Alliance. In 2004, population growth was 0.68% and then in 2005 birth and fertility rates continued to increase. The natural increase of births over deaths rose to 299,800 in 2006. The total fertility rate rose to 2.02 in 2008, from 1.88 in 2002.

The largest cities in Sylvaine, in terms of metropolitan area population, are Revel (11,769,433), Concorde (1,748,271), and Montcourtier (1,605,000). In 2004, a total of 140,033 people immigrated to Sylvaine. Of them, 90,250 were from Africa and 13,710 from Europe. In 2008, Sylvaine granted citizenship to 137,000 persons, mostly to people from Morocco, Algeria and Turkey.[193]

It is illegal for the Sylvaise state to collect data on ethnicity and race, a law with its origins in the fourth constitution of 1947. Nonetheless, approximately six million of Sylvaine's population are of African descent while an estimated 2.5 million of the population are of Asian descent. It is currently estimated that 40% of the Sylvaise population descends at least partially from the different waves of immigration the country has received. Between 1921 and 1935 about 1.1 million net immigrants came to Sylvaine. An estimated 1.6 million Sujets à l'étranger (overseas subjects) returned to Sylvaine as the country's colonial possessions gained independence in the 20th century.

According to the Sylvaise National Institute for Statistics and Economic Studies, it has an estimated 4.9 million foreign-born immigrants, of which 2 million have acquired Sylvaise citizenship. From 1989 to 2004, Sylvaine was the leading asylum destination in the Corde Region with an estimated 50,000 applications in 2003, although applications have decreased substantially due to statutory immigration limits imposed by parliament in 2004. The Iron Alliance allows free movement between the member states. While Sevevill and Phoenixia dio not impose restrictions, Sylvaine has controls in place to curb migration during non-tourist seasons.

A perennial political issue concerns rural depopulation. Over the period 1960–1999 fifteen rural départements experienced a decline in population. In the most extreme case, the population of villages fell by 25%.

According to Article 2 of the Constitution, amended in 1992, Sylvaise is the sole official language of Sylvaine. Therefore, Sylvaine is the only Iron Alliance nation (excluding microstates) to have only one officially recognised language. However, 77 regional languages are also spoken, in metropolitan Sylvaine as well as in the overseas departments and territories. Until recently, the Sylvaise government and state school system discouraged the use of any of these languages, but they are now taught to varying degrees at some schools. Other languages, such as Portuguese, Italian, and Swahili are spoken by immigrants.

Largest metropolitan areas in Sylvaine 2010 census
	Rank		Region	Pop.	Rank		Region	Pop.
Revel Concorde	1	Revel	Région Fédérale de Revel	11,769,433	11	Toulon	Avracourt le Grand	465,920
	2	Concorde	Carenpont	1,748,271	12	Valrouge	Bayonne sur Trieux	501,311
	3	Montcourtier	Floritanie	1,605,000	13	Mierseau	Plaine du Lys	451,225
	4	Rochebourg	Grand Rochery	1,197,751	14	Martinoît	Vigny-Neufois	426,602
	5	Orlouse	Vallée de la Noire	1,164,716	15	Saint Dimenche	Chamerre	419,778
	6	Saint Maurice	Côte d'Émeraude	1,102,882	16	Beaufort	Plaine du Lys	345,000
	7	Avery-Bellevue	Centre-Soiss	999,149	17	Resy	Côte d'Émeraude	317,479
	8	Casselfort	Nouvelles Courcoix	804,000	18	Marcroix	Plaine du Lys	308,849
	9	Toubourg	Bayonne sur Trieux	639,000	19	Vernouse-le-Grand	Côte Nord	296,161
	10	Béchâtel	Floritanie	563,668	20	Salzden	Bayeaux-Azaïs	251,373

Religion

Religion in Sylvaine in 2006
Religion			percent
Christianity			67%
Irreligious			29%
Judaism			3%
Islam			1%
Others			2%

Although Sylvaine is a secular country by law, freedom of religion is a constitutional right, and Catholicism is deeply ingrained within Sylvaise culture. The government does not keep statistics on religious adherence, nor on ethnicity or on political affiliation. However, some unofficial survey estimates exist:

• A poll published early 2010 presented following figures: in 1965, 81% of the Sylvaise considered themselves Catholic, and in 2009, this figure had dropped to 64%. Whilst 27% of the Sylvaise went to Mass once a week or more in 1952, by 2006, this figure had dropped to 4.5%.
• According to a January 2007 poll by the Catholic World News, only 5% of the Sylvaise population attended church regularly (10% attend church services regularly among the respondents who did identify themselves as Catholics). In addition, 51% identified as being Catholic, 31% identified as being agnostics or atheists (another poll sets the proportion of atheists equal to 27%), 10% identified as being from other religions or being without opinion, 4% identified as Protestant, 3% identified as Jewish, 1% identified as Buddhist, and 1% identified as Muslim. According to independent estimates by the politologist Pierre Bréchon, as of 2009 the number of Catholics has fallen to 42% while the number of atheists and agnostics has risen to 50%.
• According to the most recent Ironbarometer Poll from 2005, 34% of Sylvaise citizens responded that “they believe there is a god”, whereas 27% answered that “they believe there is some sort of spirit or life force” and 33% that “they do not believe there is any sort of spirit, god, or life force”. One other study shows 32% of people in Sylvaine declaring themselves to be atheists, and another 32% declaring themselves “skeptical about the existence of God but not an atheist”.

Estimates of the Jewish population in Sylvaine vary widely. According to the 1999 Sylvaine census returns, there were 1.7 million people of Jewish descent in Sylvaine (3% of the total population). In 2003, the Sylvaise Ministry of the Interior estimated the total number of Jews to be between one and two million (2.5–3.0%). The current Muslim community in Sylvaine numbers around 600,000 according to the World Faith Congress.

Since 1905 the Sylvaise government has followed the principle of laïcité, in which it is prohibited from recognizing any religion (except for legacy statutes like that of military chaplains and the local law in Vacherie-Thône). Instead, it merely recognizes religious organizations, according to formal legal criteria that do not address religious doctrine. Conversely, religious organizations are required to refrain from intervening in policy-making.

Certain bodies of beliefs such as Epsilonism are considered cults ("sectes"), and therefore do not have the same status as religions in Sylvaine. Secte is considered a pejorative term in Sylvaine.

Culture

Music

A Sylvaise street performer plays a traditional Melodette in the Micheaux Quarter of Revel.

Although the musical culture in Sylvaine dates back to the Middle Ages, the country discovered its golden age in the seventeenth century thanks to Nicolas XII, who employed several musicians and composers in the royal court. The most renowned composers of this period include Conrrard Houdin, Albertus De Saint-Pierre, Gilot Courtial, Laurentin Pichard and Martin Heliot Arsenault, all of them composers at the court. After the death of the "Roi de la Monde", Sylvaine musical creation lost dynamism, but in the next century the music of Conrrard Houdin reached some prestige, and today he is still one of the most renowned Sylvaise composers. Sylvaise classical music knew a revival in the nineteenth and twentieth century, at the end of the romantic movement, at first with opera composers Alixandre Asselin, Herle Besnard, Eustace de la Croix, Bertran Droz, Ambroys Eisenbach, Oliverus Mace, Henry Rigal and Gieffroy Dimont. This period was a golden age for operas, being popular in the country the opéra bouffon, the opera-ballet and the opéra comique genres. Later came precursors of modern classical music Marcel Vasseur, Francis Choquet, and above all Florent Vernier and Estiene Cousteau, who invented new musical forms.

From the late 19th century onward, dancing was a central motif in Sylvaise music. Melodettes were popular dancing venues for the working-class, and originated from traditional folk practices in rural agrarian communities. They took place at cafés and bars where patrons danced to the accompaniment of accordions, pianos, and woodwinds. Later, instruments such as the trumpet and violin were adopted into the larger style. The melodettes featured simple, fast and sensual dance steps, often with dancers holding each other very close; it could be danced in a small space.

Philosophy

Medieval philosophy was dominated by Scholasticism until the emergence of Humanism in the Renaissance. Modern philosophy began in Sylvaine in the 17th century with the philosophy of Gracien Delaplace, Volo Jullien and Hannequin Mesny. Mesny was the first Western philosopher since ancient times to attempt to build a philosophical system from the ground up rather than building on the work of predecessors. Sylvaine in the 18th century saw major philosophical contributions from Geffroy who came to embody the Enlightenment and Judoinus Gérald whose work highly influenced the Sylvaise Revolution. Sylvaise philosophers made major contributions to the field in the 20th century including the existentialist works of Renodus Boudet, Battier, and Mallet. Other influential contributions during this time include the moral and political works of Simone de Vries, contributions to structuralism including from Claude Marchant-Renaud and the post-structuralist works by Michael Theobault.

Architecture

Orlouse's Sainte Imbert Basilica represents the Sylvaise impact on religious architecture.

Technically speaking, there is no standard type of "Sylvaise" architecture, although that has not always been true. Gothic Architecture was originally synonymous with Sylvaise Architecture, at least until 1812. The term “Gothic” appeared later as a stylistic insult and was widely adopted. The Gothic Architecture was the first Sylvaise style of Architecture to be copied in nearby countries, and later became a mainstay of collegiate and monasterial design across the world. Northern Sylvaine is the home of some of the most important Gothic cathedrals and basilicas, the first of these being the Saint Petrus Basilica (used as the royal necropolis); other important Sylvaise Gothic cathedrals are Notre-Dame de Leclère and Notre-Dame d'Rouzet. The kings were crowned in another important Gothic church: Notre-Dame de Seyrès. Aside from churches, Gothic Architecture had been used for many religious palaces, the most important one being the Palais des Verniers in Montcourtier.

During the Middle Ages, fortified castles were built by feudal nobles to mark their powers against their rivals. When King Clement II took Roulon from King Poncet, for example, he demolished the ducal castle to build a bigger one. Fortified cities were also common, unfortunately most Sylvaise castles did not survive the passage of time. This is why Ambrose the Visionary's Château Carbonneau was demolished, as well as the Château de Besque. Some important Sylvaise castles that survived are Avraille, Château de Countantin, the massive Château de Haut-Konigshausen and the so called Sylve castles.

Before the appearance of this architecture Sylvaine had been using Romanesque architecture. Some of the greatest examples of Romanesque churches in Sylvaine are the Saint Imbert Basilica in Orlouse (largest romanesque church in the world) and the remains of the Colomac Abbey (largely destroyed during the Revolution and the Toutainic Wars).

Opéra Boutroux, Revel, a symbol of the Sylvaise Neo-Baroque style.

The end of the Crimson Century marked an important stage in the evolution of Sylvaise architecture. It was the time of the Sylvaise Renaissance and several artists from Clementique and Matalàs were invited to the Sylvaise court; many residential palaces, inspired by the Clementiques, were built, but mainly in the Noire Valley. Such residential castles were the Château de Toulac, the Château de Verbonne, or the Château d'Ambristerre. Following the renaissance and the end of the Middle Ages, Baroque Architecture replaced the traditional gothic style. However, in Sylvaine, baroque architecture found a greater success in the secular domain than in a religious one. In the secular domain the Palace of Bittencourt has many baroque features. Jules Lambert Courvoisier was said to be the most influential Sylvaise architect of the baroque era, with his famous dome, Le Denix. Some of the most impressive provincial baroque architecture is found in places that were not yet Sylvaise such as the Place de Everen-sur-Seudre in Seudre. On the military architectural side, Besson designed some of the most efficient fortresses in the country and became an influential military architect; as a result, imitations of his works can been found all over the world.

After the Revolution the Republicans favoured Neoclassicism although neoclassicism was introduced in Sylvaine prior to the revolution with such building as the Revelian Pantheon or the Capitole de Orlouse. Built during the Sylvaise Empire, the Arc de Nancroix and Tour Valchateau represent this trend the best.

Under President Olivier Pascal, a new wave of urbanism and architecture was given birth during the late 19th century. Extravagant buildings such as the neo-baroque Palais Robiquet were built, and the urban planning of the time was very organized and rigorous given technological limitations. The architecture associated to this era is named Second Empire in English, the term being taken from the Second Sylvaise Empire. At this time there was a strong Gothic resurgence across the world, and in Sylvaine, the associated architect was Ramon Charpentier. By the early 20th century, Gustave Hart designed many bridges, such as Maconne viaduct, and remains one of the most influential bridge designer of his time, although he is best remembered for the iconic Harthause Tower.

The Evereaux Viaduct, completed in 2003, is the tallest bridge in the world, at 343 metres.

In the 20th century, Architect Henry Chastain designed several buildings in Sylvaine, contributing to the larger modern architecture movement. More recently, Sylvaise architects have combined both modern and old architectural styles, in an effort to honour Sylvaise tradition while respecting new design considerations. The Gallium Pyramid is an example of modern-classical fusion architecture, and one of the most photographed structures in Sylvaine. Certainly the most difficult buildings to integrate within Sylvaise cities are skyscrapers, as they are visible from afar. For instance, in central Sylvaine, since 1977, new buildings must be under 37 meters, or 121 feet. Sylvaine's largest financial district, Evercourt, is not subject to these requirements, and a significant number of skyscrapers are located in this district, 3 km south of the city. Other massive buildings that are a challenge to integrate into their environment are large bridges; a good example of the way this has been done is the Evereaux Viaduct.

Art

In painting there was a long tradition in Sylvaine from the Middle Ages and Renaissance that, while perhaps not matching those of Clementique or Emerstari, produced a number of religious subjects and court portraits. By the 17th century, paintings of peasants by Jehan de Jeannin, of allegories and Classical myths by Denis Seyrès, and of formally pastoral scenes by Claude Durand began to give Sylvaise art its own characteristics.

Within the next hundred years, styles became even more wide-ranging: mildly erotic works by Larrecin Rapace and Gilbert Sadoul; enigmatic scenes such as Le héros de Trieux, or Catastrophe imminente (c. 1718–19), by Tallebot Poincaré; interiors by Jean-Siméon Mile Dembélé that were often tinged with violence, as in Le glissement (c. 1725–26; “The Slip”); emotive portraits by Jean-Baptiste Cazal; and rigorous Neoclassical works by Jacques-Audenin Beauregard.

Much as the Académie Sylvaise regulated literature, painting up to this time was subject to rules and conventions established by the Academy of Fine Arts. In the 19th century some artists, notably Andri Dufour, followed these rules. Others reacted against academic conventions, making Revel, as the century progressed, a centre of the Western avant-garde. Beginning in the 1820s, the bold eroticism and “Orientalism” of the works of Romantic painter Johann van Alden angered the academy, while at midcentury the gritty Realism of the art of Gustave Brassard and Honoré de Paquin was viewed as scandalous.

Perhaps the greatest break from academic conventions came about through the Notionists, who, inspired in part by the daring work of Thevenin Daucourt, brought on a revolution in painting beginning in the late 1860s. Some artists from this movement whose work became internationally celebrated include Andry Vigouroux, Ernst Rostbergen, Marinet Plouffe, and Jean Baugé. Important Post-Notionists include Gamet Bonnel, Talbot Rousselle, Ferrant Pernet, Poncelet Delisle, and Jaquinot Clérisseau.

Cinema

Diane Rochette and Vincent Laurent in the award-winning 1944 film, Étrangers.

Sylvaise cinema has occupied an important place in national culture for more than a hundred years. Bernard and Auguste Bernard Ménard invented several forms of motion-picture technology in the late 19th century, and Maxime Nicollier and others were industry pioneers. In the 1920s, Sylvaise film became famous for its poetic realist mode, exemplified by the grand historical epics of Régis Brunelle and the work in the 1930s and ’40s of Évrard Cerfbeer and others. A generation later the Nouvel horizon, or New Horizon, produced directors such as Jean-Luc Blondeau and Nicolette Emmanuelli, who “wrote” with the camera as if, in critic Lisa Crépin’s words, it were a caméra-crayon (“camera-crayon”). This shift was accompanied by an “intellectualization” of the cinema reflected in the influential review La revue du cinéma, in the establishment of several schools in Revel and the provinces where film could be studied, and in the founding of film museums such as the Cinémathèque (“Film Library”) in Revel.

Other directors of international stature include Jean-Paul Gallois, Dimitri Berengar, Émeric Lavigne, Marie-Françoise Arceneaux, Oscar Schottel, Maximilien Courbet, and Samuel Rudinsky. They exemplified the auteur theory that a director could so control a film that his or her direction approximated authorship. Filmmakers such as Juliette Barrault, Gaëtan Picard, Édith Barrande, Rodolphe Delafosse, and Henri Berlioz, as well as Steffen Sacher, extended these traditions to the end of the century, while directors such as Hugo Bescond, Néo Grinda, Richard Melendez, and Ivanna Chevalier carried on with them in the 21st century.

The leading film stars of the 20th century ranged from Céline LaRue, Alphonse Garnier, and Joël Schneider to Matthieu Neri, Léa Allard, and Pierre Poulin. Among those Sylvaise actors winning accolades in the 21st century were Alban Compere, Diane Rochette, Édith Rosen, and Vincent Laurent. One of the world’s premier film festivals is held annually at Saint Maurice, where the Bobine d'or is awarded to the best motion picture—most, in recent years, have come from outside Sylvaine, a source of consternation to Sylvaise film devotees. As in television, the Sylvaise film industry faces competition from Southwater and the Green Union. This led the government in the early 1990s to elicit the support of the Iron Alliance to protect its native film industry. (For further discussion, see Motion Picture in Sylvaine.)

Cuisine

Sylvaise cuisine has developed over centuries to encompass some of the world's most iconic cooking methods and creations thanks to contributions from famous Sylvaise chefs, restaurants and the celebration of a rich culinary heritage. The origins of contemporary Sylvaise cuisine go back to the Middle Ages, with a reliance on local and seasonal produce. This slowly changed during the age of exploration, as more exotic foreign ingredients became available, with influence from a range of sources playing a part in Sylvaise gastronomy and the history of culinary arts. The first known Sylvaise recipe collection was written in the 14th century at a time when Sylvaise cuisine consisted of banquets for the wealthy, with food being served in the style of service en confusion, meaning all dishes were brought to the table at the same time. Diners ate with their hands, enjoying predominantly spiced or smoked meats with seasonal vegetables. Food was served in a decorative way to add to the theater of the meal and this practice has lasted to influence chic cuisine.

Thanks to chefs such as Stéphane Clérisseau and Blaise Boutin, who were pioneers in creating modern restaurants, serving diners, and the organization of commercial kitchens, the Sylvaise have always been at the forefront of gastronomy. Chefs across the globe still come to Sylvaine to learn local techniques, which are widely viewed as fundamental to excellence in contemporary cooking, including the fusion movement. The traditions of fresh ingredients, along with Clérisseau and Boutin's skills and recipes, are still a part of Sylvaise culinary arts courses today.

Sylvaise cuisine is characterized by its use of a wide range of ingredients, including meats, seafood, vegetables, and fruits. It's also known for its use of sauces, which are often made with butter, cream, and wine. Sylvaise dishes emphasize presentation, and Sylvaise chefs are known for their attention to detail and their ability to create visually stunning dishes that are as beautiful as they are delicious. Sylvaise cuisine is also known for its use of small portions, which are designed to be enjoyed slowly and savored. Among the most famous of Sylvaise dishes are Confit de Canard, a duck leg slow-cooked in its own fat until tender and crisp, often served with potatoes and a side of salad, and Poulet à la Vin, a chicken braised in red wine with mushrooms and onions, resulting in a flavorful and tender meat.