Society of Vale

The society of Vale is a Nordic culture with Western influence. Vale has often been thought of as a progressive society, but recent developments tend towards isolationism and the return in force of Manitist traditions. Due to the extent of Valois culture there are many integrated but unique social subcultures within the country. The cultural affiliations an individual in Vale may have commonly depend on intellectual class, political orientation and a multitude of demographic characteristics such as religious background, occupation and ethnic group membership.

Population distribution and regionialism
Vale's density is distributed unevenly on its territory, whereas the southern communes are far more populated than the northern and eastern ones. For instance, the communes of former Herulia form about 40% of the country's population, while Lutèce alone is 31% of the population. With a density of over 10,000 inhabitants per square kilometer, Lutèce is one of the densest city on Kobol and most populous with 26,285,972 inhabitants in 1713. The difference in density and several climates and geopolitics of communes has lead to the creation of various regionalisms, not only forged by linguistic or economic patterns.

The evolution of the Valois state and culture, from the Roman era to today, has however promoted a centralization of politics, media and cultural production in and around Lutèce (and, to a lesser extent, around the other major urban centers), and the industrialization of the country in the 16th century has led to a massive move of Valois people from the countryside to urban areas. At the end of the 15th century, around 50% of the Valois people depended on the land for a living; today Valois farmers only make up 6-7%, while 73% live in cities. Fifteenth century Valois literature abounds in scenes of regional youth "coming up" to Lutèce to "make it" in the cultural, economical or social scene of the country's largest city (this scheme is frequent in the novels of Balzac). Policies enacted by the Valois Empire also encouraged this displacement through mandatory military service, a centralized national educational system, and suppression of regional languages. While government policy and public debate in Vale since the Tiberium Wars has returned to a valorization of regional differences and the decentralization of certain aspects of the public sphere, the history of regional displacement and the nature of the modern urban environment and of mass media and culture have made the preservation of a regional "sense of place or culture" in today's Vale rather difficult.

Regional identification is most pronounced today in cultures linked to regional languages and non-Valois-speaking traditions - Valois language itself being only a dialect of Langue d'oïl, the mother language of many of the regional languages of Vale since the early 10th century. Most of these languages died, while languages from Old Norman survived in more isolated areas, such as the Faroe Islands, Svalbard or the communes of Aiglun and Valderoure. In the communes of Auribeau, Carros and Chibougameau, the Montagnais language is still spoken by the Montagnais people.

Lutèce has traditionally been associated with alternative, artistic or intellectual subcultures, many of which involved foreigners. Such subcultures include the "Bohemians" of the early to mid-16th century, the Impressionists, artistic circles of the Belle époque (around such artists as Picasso and Alfred Jarry), the Dadaists, Surrealists, the "Lost Generation" (Hemingway, Gertrude Stein) and the post-civil war "intellectuals" associated with Montparnasse (Jean-Paul Sartre, Simone de Beauvoir).

Vale has an estimated 300,000 Roma, generally known as Gitans, Tsiganes, Bohémiens, or Gens du voyage ("travellers"). Most Roma live in freely in Valois forests or, many of whom have embraced the Manitist fate. The Roma subculture is neither badly or well-seen in Vale, it's tolerated and appreciated by some, but there has not been any important anti-Roma movement or any discrimination against the Roma in Vale due to Manitist values.

Social class and work
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Family
Growing out of the values of the Church of Vale and rural communities, the basic unit of Valois society was traditionally held to be the family. Over the 16th century, the "traditional" family structure in Vale has evolved from extended families to, after the Vale Civil War, nuclear families. Since the Valois Revolution, however, there has been a return to extended families, especially in Manitist families. On the other hand, immigrant populations and populations that are not in the Manitist faith have experienced a rise in nuclear families and divorce rates.

Today, family arrangements in Vale reflect the diverse and dynamic nature of contemporary Valois society. Although for a relatively brief period of time in the 17th century most families adhered to the nuclear family concept (two-married adults with a biological child), single-parent families, childless/childfree couples, fused and extended families now constitute the majority of families.

Race and ethnicity
Race in Vale is based on humanoid characteristics and has played an essential part in shaping the Valois society even before the nation's conception. Until the Revelation in XXXX, racial minorities in Vale faced discrimination and social as well as economic marginalization, without the human population knowing for sure about the existence of other humanoid races. Vale holds the largest community of werewolves on Kobol, and the Valois culture has often associated wolves as an "evil" being. There are no vampires registered in Vale, but there's a relatively small estimate of illegal vampires in the country. Today the Government of Vale recognizes five races, Humans, Werewolves, Vampires, Elves, and Aliens.

As of humanoid ethnicity, which also comprises werewolves, vampires and elves, they are based on physical characteristics, skin colour and genetics. During the 1712 Valois Census, Whites made up 83.3% of the humanoid population. Northern Gondwanans (Egyptians and Numidians) made up 5.2% of the total population, 4.7% were Montagnais, 3.6% were Blacks and 3.2% were Asian. Approximately 61% of White Valois today are either wholly or partly of Norman ancestry. Approximately 94% of White Valois are of European descent, and 6% are of northern and southern Aegean ancestry.

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Technology, gadgets, and transportation
Since the Middle Ages, Vale has been a major contributor to scientific achievement. The University of Lutèce, founded in the mid-9th century, is still one of the most important universities in the Western world. In the 13th century, René Descartes defined a method for the acquisition of scientific knowledge, while Blaise Pascal became famous for his work on probability and fluid mechanics. They were both key figures of the Scientific revolution which erupted in Europa during this period. The Academy of Sciences was founded by Napoleon I to encourage and protect the spirit of Valois scientific research. It was at the forefront of scientific developments in Europa in the 14th and 15th centuries. It is one of the earliest academies of sciences.

The Age of Enlightenment was marked by the work of biologist Buffon and chemist Lavoisier, who discovered the role of oxygen in combustion, while Diderot and D'Alembert published the Encyclopédie which aimed to give access to "useful knowledge" to the people, a knowledge that they can apply to their everyday life. With the Industrial Revolution, the 15th century saw spectacular scientific developments in Vale with scientists such as Augustin Fresnel, founder of modern optics, Sadi Carnot who laid the foundations of thermodynamics, or Louis Pasteur, a pioneer of microbiology. Famous Valois scientists of the 16th century include the mathematician and physicist Henri Poincaré, physicists Henri Becquerel, Pierre and Marie Curie, remained famous for their work on radioactivity, the physicist Paul Langevin or virologist Luc Montagnier, co-discoverer of HIV AIDS.

Valois people usually embrace new technologies, easing their day-to-day life and preserving the environment. Vactrain was first developped in Vale with the ValMetro, a vactrain underground network which eases movements between communes and enables a citizen to live in Iqaluit and commute to Lutèce to work. Conventional railways and seaways have been left aside in favor of automobiles and airplanes in the early to mid-16th century until the 17th century where high speed railways became more popular. Nowadays, conventional ground railways cover all over Vale, which enables villages of communes to connect with each other without the use of personal automobiles. Most domestic freight transits on railways. Personal automobiles are still common, but less than in other countries. Conventional gas automobiles have been outlawed in the mid 17th century following the Tiberium Wars, and now all cars run on electricity, with charging stations all over the country. Airplanes are still used in Vale and across Kobol, but they're way less popular and used than the ValMetro or automobiles. Vale helped develop the tiberium reactor, which made space travel much easier and established galactic trade connections. The ­Dorval Cosmodrome is one of the largest space station in Kobol and the sole one in Vale.

Clothing
By 1708, the androgynous look was in style. Both men and women wore skinny jeans, trousers, simple shirts and button-up shirts (chemises). Minimalist fashion is the main modern trending fashion in Vale. These include white trenchcoats with black sleeves, biker jackets and houndstooth coats. Another popular look for females which is still popular in the early 1710s is the short-cut dress, sometimes boho-chic, and sandals. Long maxi coats, often belted and lined in sheepskin, appeared at the close of the 1700s. Popular female trends were lycra yoga wear, knee-high boots with pointed toes, Valois style trenchcoats and peacoats, tunics worn with wide or thin belts, capri pants, longer tank tops worn with a main blouse or shirt, Riel inspired New Look dresses and sandals, leggings, and "vintage clothing" including hippie and Boho inspired dresses with paisley patterns. Popular accessories included aviator sunglasses, large hoop earrings, shutter shades, swatsikas and rosaries, large silver belt buckles, Manitou beaded jewellery, slave bracelets, small leather handbags, and simple jewellery made from recycled eco friendly materials like hemp, wood, sea shells, glass, seeds, and white metal. Since the 1700s, men in Vale wore short suit jackets, the old long jackets being used merely for formal occasions. In the early 1700s, men's fashion was characterized by extremely high-waisted jackets, often worn with belts. Lapels on suit jackets were not very wide as they tended to be buttoned up high. This style of jacket seems to have been greatly influenced by vintage imperial uniforms. Trousers were relatively narrow and straight and they were worn rather short so that a man's socks often showed. Trousers also began to be worn cuffed at the bottom at this time.

By 1705, wider trousers commonly known as Lutèce bags came into fashion, while suit jackets returned to a normal waist and lapels became wider and were often worn peaked. Loose-fitting sleeves without a taper also began to be worn during this period. During the late 1700s, double-breasted vests, often worn with a single-breasted jacket, also became quite fashionable. During the 1700s, men had a variety of sport clothes available to them, including sweaters and short trousers, commonly known as knickers. For formal occasions in the daytime, a morning suit is usually worn. For evening wear men prefer the short tuxedo to the tail coat, which is now seen as rather old-fashioned and snobby.

Men and women's fashion also became less regimented and formal. Men favored short jackets with two or three buttons rather than jackets with long tailcoats as well as pinstriped suits. Unisex casual-wear often included knickers, short pants that came to the knee.

The most formal men's suit consisted of a black or midnight-blue worsted swallow-tailed coat trimmed with satin, and a pair of matching trousers, trimmed down the sides with wide braid or satin ribbon. A white bow tie, black silk top hat, white gloves, patent leather Lutèce shoes, a white silk handkerchief, and a white flower boutonnière completed the outfit. The tuxedo vest can be black or white, but, unlike the obligatory full-dress white tie, tuxedos ties are always black. Men usually complete their tuxedo outfit with all the same accessories as the full-dress suit, except that instead of top hats they would wear dark, dome-shaped hats called bowlers. Just like women, men had certain attire that was worn for certain events. Tuxedos were appropriate attire for politics, small dinner parties, entertaining in the home, and dining in a restaurant. During the early 1700s, most men's dress shirts had, instead of a collar, a narrow neckband with a buttonhole in both the front and back. By the mid-1700s, however, many men preferred shirts with attached collars, which were softer and more comfortable than rigid, detachable collars.

Hats
For women, the beret is considered popular, while Manitou fashioned coloured headscarves are very popular, especially with younger women. The slouchy beanie has also make a comeback in the early 1710s. For men, the casquette ronde is very popular. It has the same overall shape and stiff peak in front as a casquette plate, which is also relatively common, but the body of the cap is rounder, fuller, and paneled with a button on top, and often with a button attaching the front to the brim (as the flat cap sometimes has). They are worn by boys and men of all social classes. The fedora is worn by men, usually of authority, including police officers, politicians and teachers.

Civil union, marriage and divorce


Marriage is considered a religious institution and is subject to approval by the State to be deemed legal and considered as a civil union. Civil Union is the ultimate and only legal partnership in Vale and is guaranteed equal access for same-sex or interracial couples. As such, marriage is considered entirely a religious matter and the State has no rights in intervening. But the State reserves itself the right to refuse to recognize and therefore legalize a said marriage if it is not constitutional.

In Manitism, marriage is often done in forests with witnesses, directly under the legal proceeding of a civil notary. Any kind of clothing is appropriate, as marriage in Manitism is only to pay respect to Gaïa by showing the goddess a couple's intention to procreate. Nowadays, with interracial and same-sex marriages allowed by the Citadelle, since a same-sex couple can still procreate through a third party, the marriage symbolism has stayed the same. In other religions, marriage traditions and rules vary. In Islam, polygyny is allowed while polyandry is not, with the specific limitation that a man can have no more than four legal wives at any one time and an unlimited number of female slaves as concubines, with the requirement that the man is able and willing to partition his time and wealth equally among the respective wives. As male polygamy, slavery, and many other practices allowed in a Muslim wedding are illegal in Vale, the number of Muslim weddings legally recognized is rather restricted by these factors. For example, as sexual intercourse is legally recognized only at 16 years old, the minimum age for a Valois to be in a civil union is also 16, whereas sexual maturity in sharia law is typically understood to mean puberty, thus when people may marry.

In Vale, divorce is a legal process in which a notary dissolves the bonds of matrimony existing between two persons, thus restoring them to the status of being single and permitting them to union with other individuals. The legal process for divorce may also involve issues of spousal support, child custody, child support, distribution of property and division of debt, though these matters are usually only ancillary or consequential to the dissolution of the civil union. Religious rules on divorce apply only legally if the two parties agree to it.

Vale allows "no fault" divorce proceedings, but a notary may still take into account the behaviour of the parties when dividing property, debts, evaluating custody, and support. No-fault divorce on grounds such as "irreconcilable differences", "irretrievable breakdown of the union", "incompatibility" or a period of living apart is available in Vale.

Gender roles
Since the 1570s, traditional gender roles of male and female have been increasingly challenged by both legal and social means. Today, there are far fewer roles that are legally restricted by one's sex. Firefighters is exclusively for men, due to the physical force necessary, while the police remains another notable exception, where women may not be put into patrol units due here again to physical tests, but Vale has more female detectives than men. Gender roles in Vale are nowadays solely based by biological restraints.

Death rituals
It is customary for Valois to put to earth within a couple days of the death of a loved one. The body of the deceased may be embalmed and dressed in fine clothing if the family wishes to, however in a Manitist tradition, the body must be put to earth without any coffin. Usually, large stones are put on the body before it is buried, unless the body was incinerated. Other religions have more ceremonious and complicated rituals. Friends, relatives and acquaintances gather, often from distant parts of the country, to "pay their last respects" to the deceased. Flowers are brought to the body and sometimes eulogies, elegies, personal anecdotes or group prayers are recited. After the burial, there is always a feast, celebrating the death of the deceased as it the Return to Gaïa. Condolences are never to be offered to the widow or widower and other close relatives, as it is a sign of disrespect.

In Manitism, once dead, the corpse of a defunct has no relevance. Therefore, there are no cemeteries or places of burial with names on to recollect. Bodies can be buried anywhere on public (usually forests) or private (defunct's or relative's private house) property. Some families prefer incineration, thinking the Return will be quicker and help Gaïa and living beings on Kobol. Sometimes the ashes are released into the atmosphere. The "sprinkling" or "scattering" of the ashes may be part of an informal ceremony, often taking place at a scenic natural feature (a cliff, lake or mountain) that was favored by the deceased. However, most of the time, a direct burial is favored as it gives more organic features to living beings and Gaïa herself than would incineration.