Bordeaux Riots

The Bordeaux Riots were a notorious outbreak of violence that occurred in the summer of 1742 AN in the Gasconian port city of Bordeaux, within the Imperial Republic of Shireroth. Ostensibly sparked by disputes among fish merchants in the bustling Quai du Hareng (Herring Wharf) market, the riots quickly escalated into one of the strangest and bloodiest episodes of post-Mango Anarchy unrest.

Causes

Tensions had been simmering for weeks over the Imperial Decree to prepare carving a separate Gasconian Prefecture out of the existing Duchy to seperate from the existing Batavian Kingdom. Gasconian locals viewed the reform as a long-overdue recognition of their distinct identity and economic importance, while Batavians resident in the region considered it a betrayal of Bordeaux’s historic association with the Batavian Throne. The dispute came to a head on a humid summer morning when rival merchants, arguing over whether tax receipts should be paid to the forthcoming Prefect or the existing Batavian governor, descended into a shouting match.

The Bordeaux Riots remain infamous as the third-deadliest recorded instance of “fish weaponry” in Batavian history, surpassed only by the Cod Massacre of 1685 AN and the Tuna Stampede of 1719 AN.

The Riot

What began as an exchange of insults quickly devolved into a full-scale street battle. With most citizens carrying their trade goods, the fighting saw fish of every variety wielded as makeshift weapons. Contemporary accounts note the surreal spectacle of shoals of mackerel hurled like stones, bludgeonings by frozen tuna, and a particularly grim incident involving a sharpened swordfish, which caused the majority of the seven fatalities recorded (three Batavians, three Gasconians and an onlooking Frank). Scores more were injured, many requiring treatment for concussions and lacerations from fish bones.

Suppression

The violence was quelled within a day by a rapid intervention from the Imperial Marshals, who imposed a strict dusk-to-dawn curfew and confiscated over three tons of weaponised fish. The ringleaders were arrested, and the Prefecture reform proceeded as planned, though Bordeaux would remain a flashpoint for Batavian-Gasconian tensions for years to come.

Despite its absurdity, the riot became a symbol of local resistance to centralisation, and to this day, the Batavian phrase “nen zwaartvis hanteerun” ("handling a swordfish") survives in Gasconian slang to mean “to take a stand, however foolishly.”

See also

• Imperial Prefectures