cost of property in the Principality, already exorbitant, had soared to new levels, not to speak of the pollution and the proximity of the new Region.
As a consequence many northern Europeans, in addition to those from the north of France, turned towards the south west region and in particular the Basque coast, which lay between Bayonne and Hendaye. Though the Atlantic climate was fine it was nevertheless wetter than that of the much warmer and dryer Mediterranean region, further they found it environmentally cleaner and safer with a low level of criminality.
Klein had considered a flight from the airport of San Sebastian just across the Bidassoa River from Hendaye but the security controls were stricter in airports with instant visual identification of wanted persons. The high speed Atlantic Rail Service though not so comfortable was less risky with the large holiday traffic.
Ennis thanked Stone and bid him adieu heading through the car park directly on to the platform avoiding the cameras in the main entrance hall. The station was relatively easy going with the main controls being made for international arrivals and departures.
Surveillance systems, cameras, GPS trackers and scanners were operated by the police and customs authorities in railway stations, airports and public places, where the identities of suspicious persons could be instantly checked against information stored in the authority’s national data bank.
The police services had become the principal instruments in the application of the Gallo-European ethnicity laws. Frontier controls had been reinforced in spite of free movement within the Union. Electronic surveillance systems did the work discreetly satisfying the need for security of a docile public.
Ennis bought a newspaper at the kiosk. The press reflected the ideas of the government, anything else would have meant censure and reprisals from Boublil’s National Security Bureau, they were everywhere, even in the cathedrals and churches.
Ennis took his place in the train and watched the flickering screen that announced the services available during the journey to Paris. The train was packed; the passengers were mostly noisy young French and Flemings returning from their holidays. It was impossible to change to a quieter seat.
At Saint Jean de Luz a man no longer young joined the train and took his seat next to Ennis. From his clothes he was certainly retired. He had no doubt been a functionary or a schoolteacher thought Ennis.
“Bonjour,” the man greeted him politely.
“Bonjour,” returned Ennis. He wanted to avoid conversation and turned his head towards the window watching the white house and apartment buildings glide past. The countryside was green and peaceful in the late summer sunshine, far from the conflicts of Algharb and the unknown that awaited him in Paris.
His neighbour took out a newspaper and slowly turned the pages.
“Look at that!”
Ennis looked politely but no more.
“The Balkans! Always problems, politics.”
“Yes,” replied Ennis without thinking, he was lost in comparing Charles d’Albignac to Eva Peron, a new Napoleon or even Citizen Kane. Many European politicians especially the Scandinavians worried about his alliance with the National Front and his xenophobic laws. He was smooth and charming, his energy and charisma seduced the voters who had enough of laxist socialism.
He was the scion of an old 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 banking 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.
He was elected to the French Senate through the indirect and consensual system of electors composed of mayors, councillors and parliamentarians from all political tendencies from his region. One third of the Senate was renewed every three years for a nine-year term.
The important question was: Who were the Gauls? French school children had for generations learnt that their ancestors, the Gauls, were tall, blonde, bearded heroes bravely resisting the invading Romans legions. The Bonapartists saw their ancestors as something between the Roman Empire and the Gauls whilst the royalists chose the Franks of Charlemagne. Later under the Third Republic it was the French language that was the cement of the nation unifying Alsatians, Flemings, Bretons, Basques, Catalans, Savoyards and Niçoises.
All were myths in the same way as the happy multi-ethnic nation, composed of Arabs, Africans, Asians and Europeans from both sides of the east west divide, as the politicians of the late twentieth century wanted to believe.
At the beginning of the twenty first century the population of Trans-Alpine Gaul was French, but not all the French were Gauls. At the beginning of the new millennium the government had firmly believed in the secular model of Republican France, though it had been transformed over the previous half a century into a multi-ethnic society. They believed in the ability of their institutions and the French language to weld together the diverse elements of their changed society. However tensions had already developed in a large part of the population of ten million born outside of France. They and their children sought an identity that they felt was refused to them, they turned towards their roots where dividing issues emerged, religion and cultural traditions. The Arabs proclaimed their belonging to Islam with its traditions; the significant Jewish population reacted by proclaiming their difference. The Christians were bewildered by the emergence of the vociferous minorities in their midst claiming respect and special privileges the rift between them widening as they took sides in the Middle East, or reacted to Western intervention in the Islamic world.
Le Martel arrived creating his own myths, of the peoples of modern Trans-Alpine Gaul, glorifying the ancient Celtic tribes of Europe as their ancestors, a culture that had covered a vast region ranging from Poland in the east to Ireland in the west and Spain in the south as the source of the modern Nation of France. These were collectively defined as Gallo-Europeans, a convenient fusion of Celts, Latins, Germans and Slavs.
The warrior Celts, their culture and ultimate conversion to Christianity by heroes such as Saint Patrick, were glorified and transformed into a myth, the banner and sword of the Nation. The symbol of le Martel, the Celtic cross, had replaced the cross of Lorraine.
“The Balkans, always problems, it never ends!” the neighbour repeated.
“Yes,” replied Ennis.
“They’re such a hotchpotch of races, Slovenes, Croats, Serbs, Macedonians, Albanians, what else can you expect?”
“I know,” said Ennis hesitantly.
“The further east you go the worse it gets, Chechens, Armenians, Georgians, Turks and a lot of other trouble makers.”
“Yes it’s complicated.”
“Those people don’t understand anything.”
“Oh!”
“Yes, it’s simple, we in France spent a thousand years trying to build a nation of Flemings, Bretons, Basques, Catalans, Corsicans and others. After the War our country was finally unified and we all called ourselves French and lived in a peace co-existence.”
“Yes in the good old days,” replied Ennis humouring his neighbour.
“What happened then, those fools of politicians imported boat loads of Arabs, Blacks and Chinks. Their difference was written all over their faces, their minds thought differently formed by the culture and religion they brought with them. That screwed up centuries of nation building. Luckily for us le Martel put the house in order.”
“That’s for sure!” It was not the moment to enter into a political discussion with such an obvious admirer of le Martel.
“You’re not French?”
“No.” Ennis felt his heart beat faster. “No, I’m Scots.”
“Ah, a beautiful country. I spent a holiday there a long time ago now. Near St Andrews, a pity it rained all the time.”
Ennis forced an approving smile.
“Some of the blacks, I mean the West Indians, who had some French cult
ure, were easier to integrate than the Africans,” he continued. “The Africans spoke many different languages and had different religions. Some were Christians, others were Muslims or Animists, and sometimes all mixed up together.”
“Probably.”
“On the other hand the Arabs, even when they came from different countries, were much more difficult to integrate. I suppose they were from a more resilient culture, their religion was stronger and more dynamic. We had been persuaded to abandon our religion. But Islam was strong in black Africa, in Senegal, Mali, Nigeria and the Cameroon’s amongst others.”
“Yes Islam has a powerful attraction.”
The man looked at Ennis and frowned.
“For people who are a little naive I mean,” Ennis added quickly.”
“Exactly, certain so called specialists even pretended that we were all brothers, biologically I suppose that’s true, I don’t question that, but you cannot make an amalgam between genes and the culture aspects which have been a dividing factor in inter-tribal relation since the beginning of time. Tribal and culture difference have never ceased to be the source of misunderstanding, conflict, war and atrocities of all kinds.”
“Without any doubt.”
“It goes back to Cain and Abel which was a very bad start for brotherly love,” the man said with a laugh.
“Yes,” Ennis replied weakly.
“You want me to tell you something,” he lowered his voice and glanced