Popular Union of Occitania

Afrikaans:	Popular Union of Occitania; Other languages spoken in Occitania: ;
Afrikaans:	Volksunie van Occitania
Catalan:	Unió Popular d'Occitània
French:	Union Populaire d'Occitanie
Hebrew:	האיחוד העממי של אוקסיטניה
Japanese:	オクシタニア人民連合
Korean:	옥시타니아 국민연합
Polish:	Związek Ludowy Oksytanii
Norwegian:	Populære Union av Occitanien
Occitan:	Union Populara d'Occitània
Spanish:	Unión Popular de Occitania
; Flag	; Coat of arms
	Motto; Casa dividida es casa perdida ; Spanish: Divided house is lost house;
	Anthem; «The People's Parade»; ;
Capital cities	Babougrad
Largest city	Three Flowers (by population); Aragon (by size)
Official language (s)	None ; English Spanish and French (Working languages); Eleven others local languages
Demonym	Occitanian
Ethnic groups	20% Catalans; 15% North American White; 15% French People; 12% Japanese ; 11% Latin Americans; 4% Spainards; 23% Others
Government	Federal, semi‑presidential constitutional republic
- President	Juan Cisneros
- Prime Minister	Vicent Branchadell
Legislature	Vergadering
Formation	15 September 2015
Dissolution	28 October 2018
Area	3,859 km²
Population	80 (June 2018)
Currency	Occitanian Franc
State religion	Violetism
Time zone	(UTC -5) Dunsula, New Iustus, Pineland and New Occitanian Granada ; (UTC -4) Tagtabazar ; (UTC 0) Highland ; (UTC +1) All-Saints, Aragon, Babougrad, Lyudi, Maltemps, Medoc, Nata River, New-Ingolstadt, Oslovia, Palmola, Shalom, Soternes, Three Flowers and Verd; (UTC +9) Luigi, Novo-Ivanovsk and Sezentrania;
	This nation was a member of the International Agricultural Development Pact, of the GUM and observer member of the MicroFrancophonie.
	Twitter Foreign's Affairs; Website; forum

Not to be confused with Occitania, a historical region in southern Europe and Occitanie, an administrative region of France.

Occitania, officially the Popular Union of Occitania and also known by the acronym UPO, was a self-declared independent nation-state, commonly qualified to a micronation by foreign observers ^[1] located all around the world, in the Midi, Iberian Peninsula, British Isles, Oslofjord, Honshu Island, Korean Peninsula, Bluegrass region, Mixedwood Plains and in the Venezuelan Coastal Range.

Occitania was created by Babou Chkaya on September 15, 2015. The federation was modeled on the USSR and included some territories. As time went, the UPO opened up on the outside world, expanded and changed its political model to arrive at the current model, create during the renovation of the political system campaign.

The micronation is an asymmetric federation, it means that the federal members (calls federal subject) have more or less autonomy, depending of their constitutional statutes. The federal subjects are grouped by "constituencies". Power is exercised by a President/Prime Minister duo. The first is elected directly by the people and exercises its prerogatives, the second is the leader of the legislative majority, together they create the government. The parliament, the Vergadering is the unicameral national legislature of Occitania, it passes all laws, write and amended the constitution and supervises the work of the government.

The Occitanian Commonwealth, a intergovernmental organisation where the members share strong diplomatic, historical, political or cultural ties with Occitania is the most important international organisation of the country. Occitania is also a full member of the GUM (since June 12, 2017), of the International Agricultural Development Pact and Observer of the MicroFrancophonie.

Etymology

Occitania is a mixture of two words. "Occ-", comes from the surname of the occitan language calls "lenga d'òc" (language of oc). "-itània" means "land of' in latin.

History

Communist era

The Popular Union of Occitania was found on September 15, 2015

The first territories were located in France, and northern Spain. The first elections were held in November 2015 and saw President Babou Chkaya elected. The micronation then took the form of a communist state. The micronation has made its first activities in the "MicroCommunity" on Twitter. On April 1, 2016 two mexican micronation made a coup d'état but it failed because of the international trust and support to the Chkaya's presidency. A few days later, new territories in France and Catalonia joined the union. In June 2016, Occitania made peace with the former opponents during the attempted coup. On August 4, 2016 was created the Occitanian Agency for International Development (OAID), marking the beginning of a national solidarity policy. During the general election of November 22, 2016 who were the first open-election, Chkaya was reelected with 68% of the votes. On February 8, 2017, a new territory in Lituania joined Occitania.

Desovietization

In March 2017 begin the "desovietization process" who means new policy of international opening, new national symbols, constitution and democracy. On May 3, the Republic of Tagtabazar located in Venezuela joined the union. On the second open-election, the Chkaya's coalition wins with 76% of the votes. Then new federal states joined the union: Himeji located in Japan on June 18, Oslovia (Norway) and Monkey Bay (Gibraltar) on July 1. On July 16, Occitania joined the Grand Unified Micronational, who is an intermicronational organisation based on the MicroWiki community. In the end of this month is founded the Occitanian Commonwealth. In the end of the year is launched the renovation of the political system campaign which changes the political model of micronation. During the December presidential election, Juan Cisneros is elected President of Occitania.

End of the Popular Union

After several months of inactivity, with most governors having stepped down, the majority of federal states withdraw. Tagtabazar declared it's own independence and one year later, the Union of Nova-Occitania was established thus replacing the old union.

Government and politics

Occitania was a federal, semi-presidential republic. The President of Occitania was elected by direct universal suffrage while the Prime Minister was the leader of the party with the most seats in Parliament, the Vergadering. Together, they form a government. The President and the PM govern in a duet, each with its own prerogatives. In Occitania, there were two sources of laws, in the first place the Constitution which was voted by the people in a referendum. The other was named Codex Occitania, it was a compilation of all the federal laws of Occitania. The federal elements could also have their own local Codex, only Tagtabazar had its own.

Government

In Occitania, every six monthes, the people elected their representatives during the legislative elections. The representatives seats in the Vergadering. After the legislative elections, the leader of the main parliamentary party was the Prime Minister.

The distribution of political power in Occitania was delegated. The President was de facto all the powers that he delegates to the Prime Minister and then to the government.

Ministries

Agriculture - responsible for the production, marketing, processing and merchandising of agricultural products and food.
Catalan minority - responsible for ensuring respect for and promotion of the Catalan minority.
Culture and Sports - in charge of national museums and monuments; promoting and protecting the arts (visual, plastic, theatrical, musical, dance, architectural, literary, televisual and cinematographic) in Occitania and abroad; and managing the national archives. The Ministry of Culture is also charged with maintaining the national identity.
French minority- responsible for ensuring respect for and promotion of the French minority.
International negotiations - responsible of the diplomacy and international discussions and negociations.
Konstitusievoog - responsible of the application of the constitution and the constitutionality of the laws voted.
Medias and Telecommunication - responsible of the national telecommunication and public medias.
Opposition - represents the main opposition party in the government, to guarantee the democracy of the country.
Spaniard minority - responsible for ensuring respect for and promotion of the Spainard minority.

Political parties


Party Name	Emblem	Leader(s)	Position	Seats in the Vergadering	Governors	Government	Ambassadors
Melocoton Party (MOP)		Babou Chkaya	Left-wing politics	3 / 7	11 / 23	9 / 13	1 / 4
Progressive Independent Party (PIP)		Juan Cisneros	Social democracy	2 / 7	3 / 23	1 / 13	2 / 4
Constituency Bloc (CNB)		Nicholas Randouler	Centre politics	0 / 7	2 / 23	0 / 13	0 / 4
Agrarian Socialism - Communist Party (AS-CP)		Lorena Serantes	Marxism-Leninism, Agrarianism	1 / 7	0 / 23	1 / 13	1 / 4
Fighting Poland (FP)		Jakub Baran	Polish nationalism, Centrism	0 / 7	1 / 23	0 / 13	0 / 4
Independents/Others	N/A	N/A	N/A	1 / 7	6 / 23	2 / 13	0 / 4

Members of the Government

Geography

Federal Subjects

The union is divided into four federal subjects system:

State: classical federal subject, administered by a governor or by the Vergadering appointed by the president. It has autonomy in the the sectors of culture, economy, agriculture, resources, and justice. Indeed, each governor can, by decree, enrich a local codex.
Federal City: federal subject, governed by the President of Occitania
Republic: federal subject administered by a governor elected by the local population. His term of office is six months. It has autonomy in all sectors. Each governor may, by decree, enrich a local codex. Recognition of a local identity. The powers of the Union in the republics are tied to diplomacy and military matters.
Sanctuary: federal subject governed by a religious authority.

Federal Subject	Code	Foundation	Area	Pop.	Macronation
All-Saints	MG-ST	1 March 2017	42m²	0	France	Holy Violet Church
Aragon	IB-AG	14 November 2015	964m²	0	Spain	Marie Fabré (MOP)
Babougrad	MG-OJ	16 February 2016	46m²	2	France	Babou Chkaya (MOP)
Dunsula	NW-DA	31 January 2018	4m²	1	USA	Nicholas Randouler (CNB)
Highland	SE-HG	5 September 2016	0,020m²	0	United Kingdom	Adélia Cerdan (MOP)
Luigi	NW-HM	18 June 2017	470m²	7	Japan	Vladimir Novikov (PIP)
Lyudi	MG-YD	17 February 2017	859m²	0	France	Vacant
Maltemps	MG-MT	16 February 2016	224m²	0	France	Ivanna Minaïeva (MOP)
Medoc	MG-MD	7 May 2016	63m²	3	France	Adélia Cerdan (MOP)
Nata River	IB-RN	16 February 2016	246 m²	0	Spain	Marie Fabré (MOP)
New-Ingolstadt	IB-IT	28 July 2016	302m²	0	Spain	Vacant
New Iustus	NW-TS	25 March 2018	4m²	1	Canada	Ashley Jaax (CNB)
New Occitanian Granada	NW-NOG	14 March 2018	1m²	1	Colombia	Vacant
Novo-Ivanovsk	NW-IK	14 January 2018	157m²	3	Japan	Bill David (IND)
Oslovia	SE-OV	1 July 2017	10m²	1	Norway	Jakub Baran (FP)
Palmola	MG-PM	9 April 2016	52m²	1	France	Marie Fabré (MOP)
Pineland	NW-TS	15 June 2018	129m²	3	USA	Ronnie Miller (IND)
Sezentrania	NW-SZ	19 October 2017	3m²	1	Korea	Daniel Lee (MOP)
Soternes	IB-BY	29 November 2016	96m²	2	Spain	Lluís Esteve (PIP)
Shalom	MG-SH	28 July 2016	31m²	3	France	Ivanna Minaïeva (MOP)
Tagtabazar	NW-TZ	3 May 2017	100m²	2	Venezuela	Juan Cisneros (PIP)
Three Flowers	IB-RTF	7 May 2016	375m²	14	Catalonia	Vicent Branchadell (MOP)
Verd	MG-VD	28 July 2016	123m²	0	France	Ivanna Minaïeva (MOP)

Tourism

Occitania is one of the most visited micronations. Only three federal subjects are opened for tourism: Nata River Oblast, Autonomous Aragon Oblast and Kraï of Lyudi. They are all in free access.

Federal Subject	Attendance
Nata River Oblast	~30
Autonomous Aragon Oblast	~10
Kraï of Lyudi	~10.000

Economy

The occitanian economy was broadly-based on the agriculture.

Law and Order

The Civil Guard was the law enforcement agency in the Popular Union of Occitania. The Civil Guard was in charge of investigations, road traffic and behavior monitoring. The security and the defense is in charge of the Occitania Self-Defense Forces. The Okhrana was the occitanian intelligence agency. Each federal subject was competent in criminal matters. Local judges appointed by the governors set penalties according to case law. The Federal Court of Babougrad was competent for web-crimes.

Occitania has set up three civil protection services :

INSO: national security alert system (occitanian DEFCON)
Weather Alert
Tseva Adom - national siren system

Demographics

Population

Occitania was a micronation of about 69 people of diverse origins, cultures, languages, and religions. The last census was held in January 2018. The Occitanian Government creates official ethnic communities in order to promote culture and guarantee the representation of each community. In Occitania there were four ethnic communities, the Catalans who were the most populous ethnic group in Occitania with 23% of the total population, the French people with 18%, the Spaniards with 8,5% and the Latin Americans with 7,25%. There were other important communities in Occitania like the Japanese estimated between 8 and 15% but they do not yet have an official group.

Language

The constitution recognize two groups of languages, first the "administrative and official" who are French, language of the first territories and Afrikaans which is promoted by the Chkaya administration as lingua franca without political stance. This language was chosen because Afrikaans is described by several linguists and media as a language "easy to learn and understand". The other group ("official") is the spoken languages in the others territories : Catalan, Occitan, and Spanish. Despite the fact that there is no status, the English language is used by the Vergadering and ministries.

Foreign Affairs

The Popular Union of Occitania has a rather open diplomatic policy, relations are made on a case by case basis and there are no restrictions, except with the virtual micronations. Occitania has opened more than fifty diplomatic relations. The UPO is an active member several international organization, including the GUM, the IADP and the MicroFrancophonie. There is also an Occitanian Commonwealth who gathers micronations sharing strong diplomatic, historical, political or cultural ties with the Popular Union of Occitania. Around the world, Occitania has three embassies, in Spain, United States and Venezuela.

The occitanian neutrality is included in its constitution.

Transport

Roads

There were two natonal roads in Occitania :

RN1 in the Maltemps Oblast
RN2 in the Autonomous Aragon Oblast

Culture

The original culture of Occitania comes from Occitania's historic region, located in Western Europe but since its extension on four continents, the UPO has been enriched by many other local cultures.

Logo of *The Red Cat*, the Occitanian Skype Lounge

Music

Occitania encourages the creation and the music distribution. The country participates twice in the Microvision Song Festival (based on the Eurovision Song Contest) (in 2016, 2017) and finished twice in second place,despite being the most viewed videos of the competition. Since 2016, each year a national concert is created to elect the Occitania song for the Microvision. TV OC as also broadcast some musical programs such as the Slavic Music Festival or the Concert for Ukraine.

The national tree is the yuca.

Religion

According to the censuses, more than 90% of the Occitanians are believers. Despite this fairly large percentage, the government's social policy focuses on difference and minorities. The national religion is Violetism. Christians (especially Roman Catholics) are the largest religious community in the country. There are also Orthodox in Occitania. There is a small Jewish community in Occitania located in the State of Shalom.

Media

There are varios medias in the country. There are two newspapers: Al Occitania (private) and Watan. In addition, there are four television channels: TV OC, TV CAT, Al Occitania TV and the First Channel. The private media is managed by the Occitanian Media Group.

There are plans to launch a radio station.

Sports

The Occitanian Football Team represents Occitania in the football's world.

Holidays

Name	Date	Notes
New Year	1 January	Nonworking day
Day of universal peace	9 January	Begin of persecution against Nougara
Yom HaShoah	20 May 2017	Moment of silence ( Working Day )
International Workers' Day	1 May	Nonworking day
Peace days	8–9 May	Nonworking day
Europe day	May	Nonworking day
Oradour's day	10 June	Moment of silence ( Working Day )
People's Army days	17 and 18 July	Nonworking day
Albigensian's day	1 August	Moment of silence ( Working Day )
Mother violet day	4 August	Celebration of the violet god/Nonworking day
Day of the Catalan brothers	11 September	Nonworking day (except in Three Flowers)
Catalonian day	11 September	Nonworking day (only in Three Flowers)
National Day	15 September	Nonworking day
Revelation Day	6 November	Revelation of the Holy Violet Church/Nonworking day

Mourning Days

Date(s)	Cause
26 and 27 July 2016	2016 Normandy church attack
12, 13 and 14 December 2016	Saint Mark's Coptic Orthodox Cathedral bombing
30 June 2017	Death of Simone Veil
18 August 2017	2017 Barcelona attack

Post

The Popular Union of Occitania has a postal company : Correoc.

Orders, decorations, and medals

In the Press

Name	Index
Linden's Revised System of Classification	4.6 (2017) high
Matthew's Democracy System of classification	4.25 (2017) high
Dresner's System of Classification	4.4 (2017) high

References

↑ "Entre folklore et géopolitique, les micronations francophones se réunissent", Le Figaro, Retrieved 29 September 2016

[1] "Entre folklore et géopolitique, les micronations francophones se réunissent", Le Figaro, Retrieved 29 September 2016

[1]

v t e Occitanian Commonwealth
Members	Germax • Union of Nova-Occitania • Tagtabazar
Others	Head of the Occitanian Commonwealth