Administration and Government of Parys

This is more or less the standard Parys administration – there the three Estates – Estates General

There is a tricameral legislature in Parys.

House of Nobles – all titled hereditary nobles above the rank of Baron and Princes of the Blood who swore allegiance to Christophe (to be renewed with the new King as a prerequisite to sitting)

House of Bishops – Senior Abbots, Bishops and Archbishops

House of Bourgeoisie and Gentilehommes – large landowner class and large financial/mercantile class with assets/estates valued over 500 K can be elected. To vote one has to have property/fixed assets worth over 100K . Men and women may vote if they meet the property requirement. This is known as the Dara-Jasra Law. (Universal suffrage exists in come provincial Estates but the majority have property and/or educational requirements. The Estates approve non military/security budgets and give confidence to Ministers/Secretaries excluding Prime Minister, Defence, Foreign and Security/Intelligence and Quadity Affairs

Administration of Parys – (Outer)

One of the established principles of the Parys monarchy was that the king could not act without the advice of his counsel; the formula “le roi en son conseil” expressed this deliberative aspect. The administration of the Parys state in the early modern period went through a long evolution, as a truly administrative apparatus – relying on old nobility, newer chancellor nobility (“noblesse de robe”) and administrative professionals – was substituted to the feudal clientel system.

Over time, the decision-making apparatus of the King’s Council was divided into several royal counsels. The subcouncils of the King’s Council can be generally grouped as “governmental councils”, “financial councils” and “judicial and administrative councils”.

The Great Offices have varied originally formed on the Oberonist Amber model (rejected totally by Brandenberg)

Some are merged into Ministers/Secretary’s roles and others are purely ceremonial as Bleys was doing in Amber.

Great Officers of the Crown

In the hierarchical order established by Corwin at the Founding the Great Officers of the Crown of Parys were:

Constable of Parys (Connétable de France), the First Officer of the Crown and highest commander of the French army, usually always a son of Corwin. Not appointed since Corwin’s First Reign. Not Filled after the War of the Parys Succession. Coveted by Prince Nicolas.
Lord Chancellor of France (Chancelier), ran the judicial system. The chancellor was assisted in his tasks by the Keeper of the Seals.
Grand Master of Parys ( Grand maître de France), similar to the title of High Steward, was head of the King’s Household.
Grand Chamberlain of Parys (Grand chambellan de Parys), in charge of the king’s chamber, with additional duties.
Admiral of Parys( Admiral de Parys), highest commander of the Parys Navy.
Marshal of Parys (Maréchal de Parys) was a dignity bestowed only on to generals for exceptional achievements. The office alternated between being junior to and then senior to the Constable of Parys; the Marshal of Parys became the de facto head of the army. The title Marshal General of the Camps and Armies of the King (Maréchal général des camps et armées du roi), more commonly referred to as the Marshal General of Parys, was created superior to the Marshal of Parys to signify that the recipient had authority over all the Parys armies in the days when a Marshal of France governed only one army. This greater dignity was bestowed only on Marshals of Parys, usually when the dignity of Constable of Parys was unavailable – It is worth noting that no Marshal of Parys (OOC unless I am forgetful) has been appointed since the First Reign of Corwin. There were none in the Art Baker Regency, the Regency of Mortals, the Revolution and the Brandenberg Occupation or the Restoration/Christophe Reign. I believe Nicolas, Aleksandr, Art Baker and Michel were Marshals de Parys though Michel tried unsuccessfully to give it up.
Grand Squire of Parys ( Grand écuyer de France), similar to the title Master of the Horse, in charge of the king’s stables.
Grand Master of Artillery (Grand maître de l’artillerie)

In the 17th and 18th centuries, the Secretaries of State were also included with the Great Offices: (More below)

Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs
Secretary of State for War
Secretary of State of the Navy
Secretary of State of the Maison du Roi, who also oversaw the clergy, and the affairs of Parys City.
Secretary of State for Quadity Affairs

Other officers

Keeper of the Seals (: Garde des Sceaux), assistant to the Chancellor.
Grand Almoner of France (Grand aumônier de Parys) was charged with keeping the royal chapel.
Colonel Generals were officers ranking immediately below the Marshals of Parys. The first office was created by Corwin, and included the offices of Colonel General of the Infantry, Colonel General of the Cavalry, Colonel General of the Dragoons, Colonel General of the Hussards, Colonel General of the Cent-Suisses & Grisons and Colonel General of the Gardes Corwin.
Lieutenant-General of the Realm, a governor and military representative of the king, who oversees all royal business in a province and reports directly to the king.
Grand Master of Ceremonies

The 17th century genealogist Père Anselme also included the following as Great Officers:

Porte Oriflamme, standard-bearer of the Oriflamme (Royal Standard) in battle.
General of the Galleys (“Général des Galères”), military position in charge of the galleys and prisoners on them
Grand Veneur of Parys, the master of the hunt and royal Game Warden.
Grand Falconer of Parys (Grand Fauconnier), master of the falcon hunt and hunting lodges.
Grand Louvetier of Parys, master of the wolf hunt – (this would offend some in other countries)
Grand Échanson, the royal cup-bearer.
Grand Maitre des Eaux et des Forêts, in charge of rivers and forests.

The following offices from the Medieval court are generally considered a posteriori Great Offices

Grand Seneschal of Parys, head of the king’s armies and of the royal household
Grand Bouteiller, master of ceremonies, judgements of nobility, royal table and wine cellars.
Grand Panetier of France, ‘bread master’, also supervises the city bakeries.
Grand Queux, the royal cook.

Governmental Councils:

Conseil d’en haut (“High Council”, concerning the most important matters of state) – composed of the king, the crown prince (the “dauphin”), the chancellor, the contrôleur général des finances, and the secretary of state in charge of foreign affairs.
Conseil des dépêches (“Council of Messages”, concerning notices and administrative reports from the provinces) – composed of the king, the chancellor, the secretaries of state, the contrôleur général des finances, and other councillors according to the issues discussed.
Conseil de Conscience

Financial Councils:

Conseil royal des finances (“Royal Council of Finances”) – composed of the king, the “chef du conseil des finances” (an honorary post), the chancellor, the contrôleur général des finances and two of his consellors, and the intendants of finance.
Conseil royal de commerce

Judicial and Administrative Councils:

Conseil d’État et des Finances or Conseil ordinaire des Finances – Headed by the Finance Minister/Secretary
Conseil privé or Conseil des parties or Conseil d’État (“Privy Council” or “Council of State”, concerning the judicial system – the largest of the royal councils, composed of the chancellor, the Royal Princes, the dukes with peerage, the ministers and secretaries of state, the contrôleur général des finances, the 30 councillors of state, the 80 maître des requêtes and the intendants of finance.
Grande Direction des Finances
Petite Direction des Finances

In addition to the above administrative institutions, the king was also surrounded by an extensive personal and court retinue (royal family, valet de chambres, guards, honorific officers), regrouped under the name “Maison du Roi”.

The administrative apparatus of the court and its councils was expanded and the proportion of the “noblesse de robe” increased, culminating in the following positions in the Corwin later reign

First Minister: ministers and secretaries of state exerted a powerful control over state administration in early Corwin and later Art Baker Regencies. The title “principal ministre de l’état” was however only given in those periods. Christophe in the regency and his reign never found a Prime Minister.
Chancellor of France (also called the “garde des sceaux”, or “Keeper of the Seals”; in the case of incapacity or disfavor, the Chancellor was generally permitted to retain his title, but the royal seals were passed to a deputy, called the “garde des sceaux”)
Controller-General of Finances (contrôleur général des finances)
Secretaries of State: created Corwin of greater importance in his time – Now usually called Ministers.
- Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs
- Secretary of State for War, also supervises border provinces
- Secretary of State of the Navy
- Secretary of State of the Maison du Roi (the king’s royal entourage and personal military guard), the affairs of Parys City and the non-border provinces.
- Secretary of State for Quadity Affairs (usually one of the Secretaries to the Archbishop Louis Amblerash)
Councillors of state (generally 30)
Maître des requêtes (generally 80)
Intendants of finance (6)
Intendants of commerce (4 or 5)
Ministers of State – Christophe appointed many of those and restructured frequently to include modern social service delivery departments
Treasurers
Farmers-General
Superintendent of the postal system
Directeur général of buildings
Directeur général of fortifications
Lieutenant General of Police of Parys City (in charge of public order in the capital)
Archbishop of Paris – Quadity and usually the Primate of All Parys’
Royal confessors

Provincial intendants under Corwin and later during the Dara ‘non-regency’. Indendants were chosen from among the maître des requêtes. Intendants attached to a province had jurisdiction over finances, justice, and policing.

Royal administrative power was firmly established in the provinces, despite whining and pleading by local parlements. In addition to their role as appellate courts, regional parlements had gained the privilege to register the edicts of the king and to present the king with official complaints concerning the edicts; in this way, they had acquired a limited role as the representative voice of (predominantly) the magistrate class. In case of refusal on parliament’s part to register the edicts (frequently concerning fiscal matters), the king could impose registration through a royal assize (“lit de justice”).

The other traditional representatives bodies in the realm were the Etats généraux which reunited the three estates of the realm (clergy, nobility, the third estate) and the “États provinciaux” (Provincial Estates). The “Etats généraux” had been reunited in times of fiscal or political crisis before Art Baker but they had no true power, the dissensions between the three orders rendered them weak and they were dissolved before having completed their work. As a sign of Parys absolutism, they ceased to be convoked by Dara, the Brandenberg Occupation until the Christophe Regency. The provincial estates proved more effective, and were convoked by the king to respond to fiscal and tax policies.

The Seigneurial system has evolved to a less feudal and more akin to the Quebec system – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seigneurial_system_of_New_France

but there is an evolution to small conservative landowners during the Art Baker Reforms and later by the Brandenberg occupation as part of the Jasra reforms to eliminate radicalism. Small farmers now own about 55% of the arable land and large estates 20% with the rest being owned by the King, Princes, and Quadity Church.