70 years of post-revolutionary chaos (1765-1836):
- Revolution → terror → military strongmen → authoritarians → finally stable republic (~1815)
- Current republic is only ~20 years old, still fragile
- From world's largest empire to continental rump state

The Three Ghosts: Plantagenet Empire (lost England), Exile Court (king in South America),
Lost Colonies (French North Americans)

5 core gameplay pillars:
1. Stabilize the Republic (institutional depth, reduce instability meter)
2. Industrial Catch-Up (electric-first strategy: skip steam, go straight to electrical)
3. Francophone Project (cultural sphere: Burgundy + Languedoc + N.American French)
4. Burgundy relationship (enemy → brother? 400 years of hostility vs cultural kinship)
5. Revanchism vs Acceptance (nationalist revenge vs pragmatic development)

Unique industrial path: electric-first (no legacy steam infrastructure → competitive advantage?)

Flavor: City of Light without empire, café revolution culture,
passionate republicanism vs German bureaucratic republicanism

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.6 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>