Reincarnated: Vive La France
Chapter 221: “We do it not to secure power but to relinquish it soon. That promise will hold us honest.”

Chapter 221: “We do it not to secure power but to relinquish it soon. That promise will hold us honest.”

Inside the Palais Bourbon, the war chamber had been stripped bare of its maps and rifles.

Instead, a long oak table had been brought to the center of the room.

Around it sat twenty figures military officers, civil servants.

Moreau sat at the head, not in full uniform, but in a simple coat.

He didn’t need medals today.

He needed agreement.

Albert Lebrun sat to his right, the official President of France, though the title now meant something far different.

His eyes were red from exhaustion, but he held himself upright.

Moreau began.

"France has been retaken. Not by kings. Not by generals. By its own citizens. The next war will not be against bullets, but corruption, decay, and betrayal."

Lebrun interjected softly, "And it must be done without repeating the crimes we accused others of."

Moreau nodded. "This government we are about to form it cannot be vengeful. It must be surgical. Swift. Lawful."

He turned to Vincent Auriol and pushed forward a leather-bound folder.

"You’ll lead Justice. First task a full tribunal commission. Every minister or general from the previous administration who abandoned their post or ordered resistance against this new command must be reviewed."

Auriol flipped the pages slowly. "No secret detentions. No special courts?"

"No," Moreau said. "Due process. Witnesses. Evidence. The people must see justice work, not merely assume it happened."

"Then I’ll need unfettered access to records," Auriol replied. "Military logs. Embassy correspondences. Treasury archives."

"They’re yours," Beauchamp said.

Moreau passed the next.

"Jean Zay, Education and Culture."

Jean Zay stood. "If I may, I’d like to propose an emergency decree for reopening schools in the provinces. Children in Limoges, Tours, and Reims haven’t seen a classroom in months."

Moreau nodded. "Approved. But make them more than schools. They should become places of healing. Offer breakfast. Distribute blankets if needed."

Zay scribbled. "I’ll need teachers."

Lebrun turned. "We’ll re-certify anyone not tied to the party apparatus. Many fled. But many stayed quiet."

Moreau continued. "Pierre Mendès France, Agriculture. Rebuild the supply lines. Use requisitioned army trucks to move grain south to Bordeaux and east to Besançon."

Mendès France asked, "Can we tap into military food stockpiles?"

"You may use one-third. But not all. We’re still France, not a charity line," said Delon.

"Paul Reynaud, Finance and Economy." Moreau continued.

Reynaud’s tone was cautious. "France faces insolvency unless we act swiftly. I’ll introduce emergency bonds, a tax on large estates, and freeze speculative markets. The Banque de France has been drained. We’ll need to freeze all foreign accounts that moved in the past 72 hours. Some of these ministers fled with state funds."

"And the franc?" Beauchamp asked.

"I’ll peg it to sterling for 60 days," Reynaud replied. "It will stabilize the markets, at least for internal trade."

"Georges Mandel, Interior and National Order." Moreau spoke.

Mandel’s eyes were hard. "We will maintain public order. The police are fragmented after these days. We must unify the prefectorial system, retrain them in rule-of-law policing not military suppression and deploy guards for sensitive buildings, archives, and tribunals. I propose an oath of loyalty to the Republic, not party."

"Marcel Déat, Labor and Social Affairs." Moreau continued.

At that, Marcel Déat raised his hand. "Labor unions are mixed. Many supported us. But they’re leaderless. We need to create liaison offices. Let them organize food distribution at the local level. It buys peace and restores dignity."

Delon looked at him. "Do it. But keep tabs. If any try to spin this into a syndicalist uprising..."

"They won’t," Déat said. "They’re tired. They want stability."

"Admiral Émile Muselier, Navy."

Muselier stood tall. "I assure you loyalty and quiet discipline. Toulon’s fleet is intact, shipping routes controlled. But I recommend naval courts to investigate loyalty breaches with review by Auriol’s tribunal."

General Joseph Vuillemin, Air Force."

Vuillemin’s tone was precise. "I have secured Tours command and disarmed any rogue air units. We will expand reconnaissance over border zones but hold back airshows until public confidence is restored. Our command structure remains intact. But we need fuel."

"Take the reserves in Clermont and Dijon," Moreau said.

Delon added, "And someone speak to the petroleum syndicate. They control the keys."

Then the room grew quiet.

Beauchamp stood. "Before we conclude Gamelin."

The air stiffened.

Lebrun rubbed his temple. "The Chief of Staff who vanished?"

Delon said, "He did nothing. Not one command. Not a call. Not a memo."

Mandel said, "He knew what was happening and chose to disappear."

Moreau said, "He must be summoned. No arrest. Let him face the Tribunal."

"And if he refuses?" asked Auriol.

"Then we judge him in absentia," Moreau said. "But no assumption. Let the facts speak."

Auriol nodded. "No gallows before guilt."

Then Lebrun leaned forward.

"Moreau, you have all command military, naval, air. Do you intend to keep it?"

"Until civilian control is possible," Moreau replied. "I won’t govern by uniform. But we cannot risk splintering again."

Muselier said, "You have the Navy."

Vuillemin: "And the Air."

Delon added, "And 50,000 loyal troops in Paris alone. With no party allegiance."

Beauchamp looked at Moreau. "Then the question becomes what do we call this?"

Moreau paused, then turned to Lebrun.

"President, your role is a beacon. We need a symbol until the referendum. A head of state who remains above politics someone who embodies continuity without control."

Lebrun took a slow breath. "If France must have a figurehead for healing, I will take it. I ask only that my role remain unsullied by power. I will not dictate policy, only represent unity. If my face helps France rise from this crisis, I will show it. But I do not seek authority."

He reached out. Moreau shook his hand.

Delon then rose, removing his arm stripes. "Everyone today my service concludes. Soldiers must become citizens again."

Beauchamp spoke next. "Our actions redefined France’s path. Now we return to the barracks. Your leadership has given us legitimacy. Now govern wisely."

Moreau looked at them knowing it already but still getting emotional, for ever since he came into this world only two names have sheltered him from everything.

"You have both earned France’s gratitude. When this is done, I will recommend honors they shall not fade into anonymity."

He paused, then stood.

"Uniforms removed. But discipline cannot. I assume unified command of the Armed Forces Army, Navy, Air. I swear hold it as long as necessary for transition but no longer. Our veterans and reservists must one day return to civilian life. The state must govern, not the military."

Delon stepped forward. "You are the sword but under your hand, it sheaths."

Muselier and Vuillemin came forward together. "Sir, we pledge Fleet and Air as part of this union."

Moreau then addressed the table. "These ministries must be more than names. They must act. We have existing bureaucracies under loyal prefects reassign them. We must keep all government services running: pensions, mail, rail, hospitals. Your job is to activate, not demolish. You are already ministers in function before decree."

Auriol raised a hand. "We should honor existing civil servants who aided resistance especially those who protected refugees, printers who refused to publish fake decrees, gendarmes who spoke truth."

Moreau nodded. "An honor roll for civil service under pressure. Award medals at ceremony on La République’s anniversary next month."

Lebrun stood and tapped the table gently. "We should also prepare steps toward democratic elections promised within twelve months. Not now, not until stability, but soon. To create legitimacy through consent, not force."

Zay added: "Pending elections, we can create local advisory councils composed of workers, farmers, civic representatives to advise ministers. That way, local voice isn’t silenced until the ballots return."

Moreau eyed each minister. "I like that. A National Restoration Council, representative but provisional. We work toward a Constituent Assembly."

He turned back to Lebrun. "President, your first task after this session is to address the Council with an oath, I swear to uphold the Republic restored by the will of the French people, and to validate our path toward renewal. Will you?"

Lebrun rose, firm as marble. "I will."

He looked around the chamber. "I swear, before you all, and before France, that I will uphold this oath."

The ritual completed.

Moreau closed his eyes. "Gentlemen," he said.

"This is our new command post governance. A republic in structure, a repair in spirit. We leave behind uniforms as rulers but not responsibility. We rebuild through systems, not slogans."

Beauchamp looked to Delon. "221 days to scheduled elections?"

Moreau considered. "Twelve months plus a month for transition so 13 months. Enough to let trials happen."

Delon scribbled on his notepad. "Provisional execution schedule for tribunals?"

Auriol held up his folder. "Hearings for the ten by next week. Once report is ready, first annulment of those convicted. Others released once they sign loyalty oath."

Moreau spoke over him. "Transparency is key. Hearings must be public, transcripts recorded. We have to demonstrate justice, not fear."

One of the younger deputies spoke quietly. "Minister Zay, will students observe?"

Zay nodded. "Yes, in local towns. So they understand that law is not just in textbooks. Democracy begins with seeing the system work."

Moreau made eye contact with each minister. "You’ve each been chosen because you represent professional merit, not political faction. Together you form a cabinet of national restoration. Each of you carries both privilege and burden. Serve with humility."

Lebrun tapped the table once more. "This is unprecedented. We’ve taken nearly everything by force and returned it through governance. I ask you all to remember men and women will be watching. History will be unforgiving."

Moreau paused. "We do it not to secure power but to relinquish it soon. That promise will hold us honest."