Champanois National Council

The Champanois National Council (Champanian: Côncile naciônal xampânès, CNX; Gaullican: Concile national champanois) was an organization founded by Champanian nationalists during the 1920s, and gained prominence during the Great War. Originally founded as a means to increase autonomy within Gaullica, the outbreak of the Great War transformed it into a front for Champanian independence. Following Champania's declaration of independence in 1933, the CNX became the foundations of the provisional government of the new Republic of Gaullican-Champania.

Background

Frèdèrîc Montânhe, one of the founders of the National Council and future first-President of Gaullican-Champania.

The concept of a unified Champania dates back to the 19th century in the tailend of the Euclean Spring. While no uprising occurred in the Amathian controlled territories of Champania, constituting modern day Bregalia, the Gaullican controlled territories of Orange underwent a revolution similar to that seen in Rayenne, culminating in the short-lived Brigançonnais Republic. Despite the Brigançonnais Republic ultimately being defeated by Gaullican troops, it helped serve as a catalyst for a renaissance of Champanian culture.  Concurrently, ongoing Amathianization efforts in Bregalia led to their own national revival, albeit one less marked than their Orangeois compatriots.

By the eve of the Great War, the idea of a unified "Orange-Bregalia" began to be advocated, particularly by Orangeois intellectuals. In the 1910s and 20s, contacts between Orangeois and Bregalian intellectuals intensified with key nationalist leaders like Frèdèrîc Montânhe and Cir Viłà arising as strong poroponents of Orangeois-Bregalian cooperation on the issue of autonomy and later independence. Despite the two movements moving closer together, their ultimate goals remained unclear, as most Orangeois intellectuals argued for autonomy within Gaullica rather than independence, while Bregalian intellectuals argued for complete independence.

The rise of functionalism in Gaullica forced these movements underground. The movements became initially united in 1923 under the name "Champanian Committee" (Champanian: Comitè xampânes; Gaullican: Comité champanois). However, most prominent intellectuals and nationalists instead chose to emigrate abroad, mostly to Etruria and northern Euclea.

Great War

Following the outbreak of the war, many of the Champanian emigre communities were quick to declare their support for the Grand Alliance. In September 1928, the "Champanois National Council" was formed in Solaria by members of the Champanian Committee who had fled into exile at the outbreak of the war. The original CNX consisted of Cir Viłá, Frèdèrîc Montânhe, and Łorenç Câsan, and eventually moved their headquarters from Solaria to Poveglia in 1930. Câsan, a former colonel in the Gaullican army pre-war, worked with Etrurian military officials to establish the Champanian Legion from Champanian prisoners of war and defectors from the Amathian and Gaullican militaries. From 1931 on, the CNX set up branches in Soravia, Valduvia, and Werania.

On 16 July, 1933, Champanois National Council representatives in Werania endorsed a plan for a unified Champanian state, in which both Orangeois and Bregalians would have their own state assemblies. Following Gaullica's proposal to initiate peace negotiations, Montânhe, who was chairperson of the CNX at the time, issued a declaration of Champanois independence in XX Month from Wiesstadt, which was subsequently recognized by the majority of Grand Alliance nations, and would later be recognized by Gaullica and Amathia following the Treaty of s'Holle.