In these difficult times, the Eighth Regiment of Transmissions stationed at the Mont-Valérien fortress had a dual mission of the utmost importance: to maintain order wherever it could be present, and to establish connections between the various bases and barracks in the region.
The latter mission had become extremely complicated since all their machinery had suddenly stopped working. Despite all their efforts, they couldn't contact anyone via radio or telephone. The computers had also ceased to function, which was a catastrophe. They had no idea what was happening in mainland France, overseas territories, in operational areas such as the Sahel, or elsewhere.
The officers suspected, without being able to verify, that it was a large-scale attack from an unidentified state, but nothing was certain because they had not seen it coming. There was no indication that such a catastrophe would occur. If this blackout was global, then the situation was even worse because in that case, they could expect no help from their European and non-European allies.
Colonel Desjoyaux was the man in charge of this regiment and held the highest position in the fort. He was a highly experienced man of fifty-four with short hair and a closely shaved chin despite the shortages. He intended to continue shaving every morning as usual until he ran out of shaving foam. However, he regretted not being able to take a hot shower as before.
Like everyone else in the fort, he was forced to wear the same clothes repeatedly and mask his sweat odor with deodorant. But with the current temperatures, it was becoming increasingly impractical.
He didn't count his hours and did his best to fulfill his duty. The situation was out of control, and he feared the worst for the future of his country. Fortunately, he had been able to contact Nanterre and Paris, which had allowed him to learn a few things about their situation. However, it had only gotten worse: people were turning into looters, losing trust in the government, preying on the weak whenever it could be of any use to them, organizing militias, dispensing justice themselves, and so on.
To make matters worse, he had learned the news of the death of the chief of the armed forces, in other words, the President of the Republic, as well as his Prime Minister. As for the senators and deputies, if they were not fleeing, they had been massacred by the crowd. In other words, no one was left at the helm of the state.
The circumstances of the president's death were unclear. According to the reports he had received, the head of state had been besieged in his palace with his top advisers. Due to the power outage, he could not take refuge in the bunker from which he could have managed the crisis under different circumstances.
The presidential guard would have done everything to defend the palace as they had done on the second day, but this time it would not have been enough. They would have been massacred, after which the crowd would have turned on everyone in the palace. Finally, they would have set fire to the illustrious building without any regard for what it represented.
Colonel Desjoyaux had therefore taken initiatives, for example, requisitioning all the horses nearby, namely those from the equestrian club of Suresnes, which owned twenty-three! Ten of them had been sent across France to contact different high-ranking officers, inform them of the situation in Paris, and gather information about what was happening with them. The other horses had been assigned to maintaining order in neighboring communes. He hoped, albeit without much belief, that a soldier on horseback would command more respect among civilians.
The colonel's thoughts were interrupted by his right-hand man entering his office with an excited look.
"My colonel! Major Ali from the First Infantry Regiment of the Republican Guard requests to see you!
"Hmm? Show her in. I'll see her immediately."
If the colonel was surprised to see a young woman enter his office, he didn't show it. He stood up and greeted the petite gendarme who seemed ready for war. Her hair was barely arranged in a thick ponytail, but it was obvious that it hadn't been properly washed since the blackout. Pockets at least as deep as his own betrayed a glaring lack of sleep, and her hollow cheeks indicated inadequate nutrition.
"My colonel, good morning. I am Major Ali, from the Rathelot barracks in Nanterre. I have terrible news to tell you and prisoners to hand over to be tried before a military tribunal.
"Ah? Hmm, first of all, where are these prisoners and how many are there? What crimes have they committed?"
"They are fifteen, sir. Here are the documents given to me by the militiamen who apprehended them."
"Militiamen? Hmm, do they answer to you or one of your superiors?"
"No, sir. At least not for the moment. It's an autonomous militia that has taken it upon itself to protect one of the districts of Puteaux."
"Really? How arrogant! Ah... But we have militias here too, and it must be the same everywhere else. Where there is disorder, there are people ready to roll up their sleeves to restore order. Do the best you can with them, and if possible, place them under your authority. Stray dogs tend to attack indiscriminately, making them extremely dangerous animals."
"I won't fail to do so, my colonel."
"Alright, let's see this. Romain Grenier: twenty-eight years old, banker, guilty of looting at Auchan, assault and battery against an elderly person and a cashier. Olivier Dubuy: twenty-one years old, sales clerk, guilty of breaking into a private residence and robbery with violence. Marina Jolie: sixteen years old... Has all this been verified?"
"These are the only documents I have, given to me by those who arrested them and drawn up by them. There has naturally been no investigation. That's all we have."
"That's thin. Way too thin. What do you want me to do with this?"
Karima Ali averted her gaze, embarrassed. She naturally shared the colonel's opinion, but she couldn't do anything more.
"With all due respect, sir, given the situation, it's not so bad. By interrogating the prisoners..."
"They'll deny everything outright," interrupted the colonel, massaging his temples, "and since they're considered innocent until proven guilty, they'll be out in less than two days. Our prisons are bursting at the seams, and those in them are starving. I need something solid to build at least one case."
"My colonel, you won't get anything solid, nothing more solid than this anyway, not without proper investigation."
Karima held the colonel's gaze with all her might and continued when she saw he had no intention of rejecting her.
"We're lacking everything, I don't need to tell you that. What we need now is to show the population that their actions have consequences. If you release them without even trying them, you'll show that we're useless, which will make us lose the support of the inhabitants."
The expression on the colonel's face became extremely serious upon hearing the bold words of the young major. Normally, he would not have tolerated such remarks. But the current situation was far from normal.
"Hmm, what do you think, Commandant?"
The man standing next to the colonel was of average height and broad-shouldered. His main physical characteristic was his thick brown eyebrows that seemed to form a bar above his eyes. Unlike his superior, he hadn't shaved recently. His beard rose high on his cheeks and descended low enough to reach his collar.
Seeing so much hair, Karima wondered if he would resemble a bear in two months.
"The militiamen are dispensing justice themselves, my colonel. And they will continue to do so until they are certain that the bad citizens will be punished for their faults! In that sense, I agree with Major Ali. Show firmness, and they will rally to your side! Thus, law and order will be restored. We'll have to do the same with the men and women already imprisoned. We can't keep them in prison, since our means are limited. Citizens wouldn't understand why we're feeding these bad citizens while they're starving."
He wants to retry all the prisoners to empty the prisons?! It's... Ah! It's crazy, but it's necessary. I suppose? It's not my problem.
"I see," replied the colonel, furrowing his brows. "So that's your opinion. I'll take it into account. Major, you mentioned news to relay to me. What is it about?"
"Ah, yes. We learned earlier today that the Élysée Palace had fallen into the hands of a crowd. The President and the Prime Minister are dead, as well as Colonel Aiguillers and Brigadier General Prigeant. The latest news is that Division General Giraud is still in Paris."
"That's what I heard this morning, yes. It's a disaster for the country, especially since the Chief of Staff is not present on French soil. He was visiting Abu Dhabi, at our airbase in Hal Dhafra. The Major General of the Armed Forces Mérignac was in Paris, probably alongside the President. We must consider him fallen in combat. The Nation is left without a head to command since we have no news from the rest of the General Staff. I know General Giraud. He's a brave man. He won't leave Paris unless forced to. General Prigeant... was a good leader of men. His loss is the most terrible news. With him, we could have restored order around Paris before retaking the capital from the enemies of the Republic. General Giraud must urgently join us or join one of the nearby military bases to organize our defense!
"I think so too, my colonel. But sending someone to Paris right now..."
"Not doing so could have serious consequences. At least, we will have done what we have to do. The rest will depend on the general. Let Lieutenant Colonel Lejeune know. I take full responsibility. Also, tell him I received a response from Camp des Loges, Beynes, Air Base 107, Command Center Millé, and the Recollets Barracks. They are all ready to march on Paris to restore order.
"I... I will relay the information to my superior. My colonel, can you... Can you tell me what their situation is? Do they have electricity? Internet?
"They are in the same situation as us, I'm afraid. All our aviation is grounded, no means of communication are working, even in Veynes, which is not at the gates of Paris. Like here or in Paris, it's chaos. Apparently, only the slightly remote villages are relatively calm despite the inconvenience caused by the power outage. No one knows what happened.
"I see," the young woman sighed in disappointment. "Would you like to send a letter to Nanterre or elsewhere?
"Well, yes. Here is a letter for the lieutenant colonel to which I have attached copies of response letters from the various commanders I was able to contact. This one is addressed to Lieutenant Colonel Hervé Duchastel-Montboissier who commands the Creil base. Although it has lost some of its importance since 2016, it remains an important military base with a large personnel. These are as many recruits to maintain and restore order in the country. Unless I'm mistaken, this base has about two thousand five hundred personnel.
"Creil? Excuse me, my colonel, but I don't know where that is."
"It's very simple. Here, take a map. You head towards Saint-Denis, northwards, cross the Seine to reach the Bois de Boulogne until you reach the ring road. Once north of Paris, take the A1. The shortest route will be to leave the highway at Survilliers to join the departmental road D317, which then becomes the D1017. You see?" he said, moving his finger on the large paper map. "You'll continue straight until here, then you'll stay left. You'll pass through Chantilly. Creil is further down this road, and Air Base 110 is outside the city, to the east. Maps are precious now, but take it with you so you don't get lost. I'll also entrust you with one of our horses. I don't personally know this man, but he should gladly receive anyone who can bring him information.
"Thank you, my colonel. I'll take care of it.
"Very well. You may go. I need to study the cases of these fifteen people you brought me. I wish you good luck!
"Thank you, my colonel. Commandant," she said, saluting the two senior officers.