by a special police service and in the case of refusal by a person or country in question; they were escorted if necessary by force to the frontier of Algharb where they were deported.
Boublil underlined that the law had not been voted in a spirit of hatred, revenge or racism, but only to protect the historical identity and traditions of the Nation and to ensure that peace and civil order were guaranteed.
Albignac had proclaimed in his inaugural speech ‘The national territory belongs to the Nation of France, it is the incarnation of the nation and is not to be shared, discussed or negotiated.
By Gallo-European I mean all those who cherish in their souls and hearts our spiritual and cultural concepts, the ideas of the Nation that go back to Charles Martel.
Our nation has generously accepted for centuries not only Gallo-Europeans, but all men and women seeking a homeland, seeking refuge, we have never refused any person willing to embrace our ideals.
We refuse those false friends who have invested our towns and villages, who betray our cultural values and deride our beliefs.’
At the Place de la Nation, at each intersection the image of Maurice Boublil, Ministre des Affairs Ethniques, appeared on the giant murals that transmitted the latest news and information. Boublil announced the latest restrictions relating to the Paris Zone and its inhabitants. The Minister was of the classic mould of a totalitarian state commissar; even his appearance was reminiscent of his distant precursor in the art, Lavrenti Beria. He applied law of which he was the prime architect with loving zeal.
From a Jewish Algerian family Boublil had never forgotten his father’s stories of the flight of his family with the Jews from Algeria. Jews who were refused Algerian nationality in 1962 and were forced to immigrate to exile in France or Israel.
Henri Boublil was a ‘juif pied-noir’. One of the French who had fled Algeria in 1962 and who had formed a clan in France, the ‘pied-noirs’, detested the Metropolitans for their betrayal and hated the Arabs who had ‘stolen’ their country. The Jews who had lived in Algeria for centuries shared the same fate as the colonialists when France retreated after a long and cruel war. In exile in France, a country that many amongst them barely knew, they shared the same tribulations and many common memories enhanced by their loss, however, they barely tolerated each other, only paying lip service to childhood friendships whenever it suited them. The spirit of mutual distrust and suspicion that existed between them in Algeria continued.
o0o
Stone guided him to an old but stylish restaurant, Santiago de Compostela, situated in a 17th century house built in the traditional rose coloured stone of Toulouse. He assured Ennis that there were two or three guest rooms. It was an agreeable short walk from the Capitole, the ancient seat of the regional government, in the heart of the old city.
The owner, Jean-Loup Klein, was old friend of Stone. He had retired from a long career in the French diplomatic service, weary from his endless excuses and tortured explanations to the world on the convoluted policies of le Martel.
Klein was a republican and in his heart against all that le Martel represented, although he had not approved of the transformation of France and the events that had led up to his takeover. He managed his fine restaurant in style with the aplomb of the diplomat he was.
Toulouse suited Klein with its mild winter climate as far from Paris as possible. The speciality of the Santiago de Compostela was its unusual cuisine, selected from the both the French and Spanish sides of the Pyrenees, and was greatly appreciated by his regular guests.
Stone explained that Klein carefully cultivated his clients, or guests, as he liked to call them, encouraging all those that discreetly shared his ideas of a free society in the republican and secular traditions of the old France that he believed would inevitably return. He was an Alsatian Jew and had opposed all racist tendencies, swearing that he would fight the likes of those who had persecuted his grandparents in Vichy France occupied by the Nazis. His quandary however was that he detested the Arabs and their invasion of the country he loved twisting its cultural values that his own Jewish family had accepted over the centuries.
“Let me introduce you to my old friend John who I told you about. He’s in France to study wine and he would like to continue in the Rioja!” he said introducing Ennis to Klein with a broad grin and an exaggerated wink of an eye.
“Excellent,” he shook Ennis by the hand, “we’ll see about the Rioja later but first we’ll settle you in, I imagine you would like to freshen up before we have dinner.” He took the room keys and led them up an elegant staircase to the first floor and showed them the rooms. “Dinner is a eight in the restaurant then we can talk about all that at ease over a good bottle of wine.”
As agreed they joined Klein at his table in one corner of the elegant restaurant. The dinner was excellent, as Stone had promised, they talked about everything and nothing, from time to time Klein left them to greet one of his regular guests and exchange small talk. Towards eleven the dinners started to leave and soon they were alone. Klein rose and returned from the bar with a bottle of Cognac.
“Now we shall talk about wine!” he said with a serious air. “So John wants to leave for Spain, what can I do to help?”
“Correct, our friend here,” he said placing his hand on Ennis’ arm, “has made some highly placed enemies.”
“I don’t want to know about that, but a friend of Stone is a friend of mine.” It was his turn to pat Ennis on the shoulder.
“I knew I could count on you old crook!”
“Okay, let’s talk about practical matters, why Spain?”
“Because it’s nearby and because it could be a departure point towards the USA or London.”
“No! It’s true that it’s not far but today Paris and Madrid have become very close together in another sense. Madrid needs Paris because of the Caliphate and is ready to render le Martel’s men any small service they can.”
“What do you suggest then?”
“John here will have to go up to Paris, I have good contacts with the Flemings, they get on well with the English.”
“Paris!”
“Yes, but not direct from Toulouse, it’s watched too closely, he’ll have to leave from St Jean de Luz with the holiday makers returning home, there’s plenty of Flemish tourists and even English amongst them.”
Stone looked at Ennis who shrugged his shoulders.
“It’s the same to me, here or St Jean de Luz, the question is how to go there?”
“No problem,” replied Stone.
“Okay then, I’ll organise it for Friday evening, you’ll take a train from St Jean de Luz to Paris where our friend Jean-Marie will look after the arrangements so that you can continue on. You’ll also need papers, everything will be fine.”
“It’s really very kind of you,” replied Ennis not knowing how to thank them.
“Well we can’t lose time, there’s rumours going around about some kind of a rebellion brewing in Paris. I don’t know what but it’s certain that something is going on.”
“Now let’s lift our glasses to our wonderful Nation and le Martel our saviour and hero,” said Stone with Klein looking at him with a wary eye.
“There’s nobody on the world stage who can possibly claim to be a match for me, nobody who has my past history. When I met a visiting premier or head of state, it’s up to them to try to prove they are cleverer than I am.”
He was smooth and charming, his energy and charisma seduced the voters who had enough of laxest governments. He was compared to Eva Peron, a new Napoleon or even Citizen Kane. Nevertheless many northern European politicians especially the Scandinavians worried about his alliance with the far right National Front and the xenophobic laws he introduced.
Charles d’Albignac was the scion of an old noble family of bankers whose holdings included an industrial empire that ranged from military aircraft to telecommunications, the manufacturing centre of which was based in their region. He had inherited the industrial and b
anking fortune and had headed his empire until he entered politics that he saw as a means to defend the family interests and those who worked for them.
As a Senator of the French upper house he could pursue his long-term interests having a mandate of nine years, above the political squabbles of the Representatives. In each of the administrative departments of France, Senators were elected by a college of grand electors composed of Parliamentary Representatives as well as Regional and local Councillors. His Department, Saône et Loire, elected three senators. As an important notable in his Region, the French tradition of clientelism ensured his election. It was a forgone conclusion when he presented himself for the seat left vacant by the death of the previous Senator.
A Fellow Traveller
The next morning Stone together with Ennis set off in the direction of Bayonne on the Basque coast. Ennis was given a new identity card with its electronic chip, and a train ticket from Hendaye to Paris.
Hendaye was a busy border town that had prospered by its proximity to the Spanish city of San Sebastian that was no more than eighteen kilometres away to the south and the towns of Biarritz and Bayonne, which lay to the north.
Since the creation of Algharb the enlarged Principality of Monaco had received the overflow of the Gallic population which had taken refuge from the dramatic changes that had overtaken their region. The result was the