The French International Canals

[maddox]

The Suez Canal.

Lokation.  Between the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea.

By agreement between The Ottoman Empire , the Caliphate of Caïro and France, France dug the canal in the same time and with the same kind of technology as IRL.
The canal functions as a natural border between the 2 countries with a sizable trackt of land that is  seen as French. 
The agreement keeps on standing, even after all the diplomatical tumult or even outright wars.
It has taken a lot of leaning, extortion and promises to keep the canal French, and it was used in the past a diplomatical weapon.

Premier Paixhans made the promise that only nations that are a direct and obvious danger to France will be denied acces to the Suez or Great Canal.

[maddox]

On the Great Canal.

The French canal between the Caribean sea and the Pacific, crossing the worst terrain for such an endeavor.

The build itself


The aftermath.

January 1916

A man is overlooking the massive Caribean entrance of the Great Canal.  The half finished quays, the railroad tracks and the heavier crane rails embedded in the weed shot concrete surfaces.
The giant cranes never delivered, diverted to the Saigon endeavor or Marseilles.

2 tramp freighters and an old Aphrodite class liner are all that is waiting for acces to the Canal.
When the canal was envisioned, the drawings and artists impressions gave views of a busy port, in front of a sprawling, modern city.   Unfortunatly, the traffic never appeared. The other canals taking a lot of the potential to them. The revenue of the canal isn't even enough to finish the works, and maintenance is limited to the locks.

On the other side the jungle already overtaking the concrete defensive works, only a few gaping holes in the hills rising up from the beach make it visible that man tried to tame and defend its position.
Underground fortress passages are playgrounds for adventerous kids and bats. Stories about giant guns nested in railroad wagons, rusting away deep inside the bowels of the hills, the sun never reaching that deep. Some of the remaining builders do say that the guns were emplaced, others say they are removed and placed upon the Valeur class battleships.

A few miles inland the small village surrounding the small "L'institute Pasteur tropical disease research outpost" is the only thing that has a resemblance of prosperity. With reason.  They found out ways to combat malaria and yellow fever. 
How simpler the issue , the larger the task . Eradicating mosquito's, by draining the swamps, regulary covering the ponds and other non flowing waters with petrol, or pumping in enough salt water.
Better extraction methodes for quinine from the Cinchona trees and the plantation are the bringers of wealth to the village.