Bon dia! And welcome, Slappy!
Other possible scenery for this campaign is Catalonia. Little is described about the situation in the Iberian Peninsula, but given the state of the things in the present day, it would be extremely difficult for any rebellion to succeed if opposed by the Spanish Army. So, if we accept the canon situation as described in v2.2 timeline, with an independent Catalonia, I must suppose that the rebellion have been unopposed by the Spanish Army, for the moment, taking advantage of the anarchy and the loss of control from the Spanish authorities. But, knowing the inevitable future retaliatory reaction from Spain (for historical experience), one of the choices available for Catalonia is to ask for help to France, offering the annexation in exchange of an important degree of autonomy. A dangerous game, yet tried in the past (for example in 1640), that has never worked
. Sadly, another time like a puppet between two states, but seems a plausible explanation and, given the situation, it could be the only choice.
A lot of the possible plots mentioned regarding this seed would match in this zone, too.