Grands Ballons

Grands Ballons (//; : Les Grands Ballons [ ]) is a major on the  coast of southeastern Gold Coast in the Sierran Southwest Corridor. As of 2016, its population was 683,384. It is the second most populous city in the Gold Coast and the tenth largest in the Kingdom. It is the seat of St. Anthony County and is an integral part of the Greater Porciúncula Area. In colloquial speech, it is commonly referred to by locals of the Southwest Corridor as GRABA or Graba (from GRAnds BAllons).

Grands Ballons is a major center for tourism, finance, logistics, international trade, culture, commerce, media, entertainment, music, education, and the arts. It is home to the, which together with the neighboring and Port of Little Gibraltar, form one of the world's largest cargo ports. The strong, historical presence of maritime trade and casual boating has led the city to proclaim itself as the "Aquatic Capital of Sierra". In 2011, it was recognized as an. In 2016, the city ranked fourth in Sierra in importance in terms of economic activity, human capital, culture, and political status. It is well known for its strong French and Spanish heritage, and is considered the cultural center of the Saintiana, or the Creole Coast, an interprovincial region of Creole and French culture in the Southwest Corridor. It is also famous for its cuisine, music, and drinking culture (particularly for its s and ), as well as its year-round festivals and international events.

The city is home to over 12 neighborhoods, 9 of which are referred to as wards. Downtown Grands Ballons is home to the most of the city's banks, international firms, and business, and is located along Half Moon Bay. The famous Old Spanish Town is a predominantly Sierran Creole neighborhood and includes the city's oldest buildings and establishments. The colonial Franco-Spanish architecture can be found here, featuring brightly colored homes with balconies and archways, and narrow one-way streets. Northtown is also another predominantly Creole, working-class neighborhood and is the birthplace of Sierran funk and hip hop. The city is home to four beaches, of which the Petite Rivière, a 1.8-mile stretch of resorts and hotels, are lined up, overlooking the Pacific. The Belmont Shore and Naples section of the city is very affluent and is home to some of the nation's wealthiest millionaires and noblemen. Western Grands Ballons is primarily industrial-based and is the site of the Port of Grands Ballons and. The neighboring Porciúncula neighborhood of St. Pierre-Chah is the primary location of the Port of Porciúncula and is where the northern terminus of the Bonaparte–San Pedro Tunnel is (which connects the Sierran mainland to the city of Little Gibraltar on the Channel Islands' Catalina Island).

The 2017 Pawnee earthquake caused significant damage to buildings and infrastructure in the city's historic Old Spanish Town and older neighborhoods. As much as $20 million in damages in personal property were incurred as a result of the disaster. Like many other cities in the region recovering from the earthquake, Grands Ballons is undergoing an ambitious renovation project that includes earthquake-proofing the city infrastructure and updating its telecommunications network.

History
Human settlement in the area around Grands Ballons has existed for over 10,000 years. Various Amerindian peoples built their communities around the coastal plains of the, and had a rich maritime culture of boating and fishing. It is believed that although there were no permanent settlements within present-day Grands Ballons' city limits, the area was used for hunting and fishing. When the Spanish arrived to Sierra for the first time, the primary group of Amerindians who inhabited Grands Ballons were the, although there was a minority population of peoples as well. As the Spanish and the French began to establish themselves in the region, the Amerindian population in the region dropped at alarming rates. The Tongva lacked the immunity defense against the diseases introduced by the Europeans, and the survivors were often relocated or sent either to or. In 1784, rewarded a large land grant named  to Spanish soldier. Nieto was a Mexican-born who served at the  and later, Mission San Gabriel. With the land grant, Nieto was allowed to use it for raising cattle and allowing them to graze it. The land grant included nearly all parts of modern Grands Ballons, parts of Porciúncula's Harbor Region, and other parts of St. Anthony County. The original grant included 300,000 acres (1,200 km$2$), but this size was reduced nearly by a half to 167,000 acres (680 km$2$) shortly after the next year. This was made in response after Mission San Gabriel disputed the boundaries of the grant, which overlapped with the mission's southern property areas.

In 1797, Julian Manuel Coronel, a soldier from Mission San Gabriel, and a family friend of Nieto, was granted permission to build a house in present-day Grands Ballons. The Coronel Estate, which remains standing to this day, became the city's first known establishment. Coronel was also responsible for the city's future name, giving his place the name Bola Grande, in reference to a large, spherical rock formation he discovered by the beachfront, a few acres away from his home.

At the turn of the century, the Spaniards had recognized the value and importance of Grands Ballons' Half Moon Bay. With wide banks and calm surf, it was an ideal place to moor ships. In addition, it was close enough to the Channel Islands, where the French had begun settling just two decades earlier. In 1768, the Our Lady of Catalina had been reported by many French and Spaniard soldiers who were convinced that the region was blessed for further development. Although the apparition was claimed to have appeared over Catalina Island from whence the title owes its name to, further eyewitnesses at Coronel's estate in Grands Ballons also reported seeing it. This event has been attributed as a major factor in Spanish development in the region, which spurred at a phenomenal rate as stories of the account spread across the Empire. With the approval by the Spanish government, Nieto and Coronel worked towards expanding Coronel's residence into a pueblo town which could be a useful link between the Channels and Porciúncula. Recognizing the great economic potential for the region, the demand for Amerindian labor was high. Many Amerindians themselves were interested in the economic opportunities offered by the Spanish, and thus Nieto established a with the help of local tribesmen to attract natives throughout the region.

The majority of Amerindians who were employed and housed at Nieto's ranchería were of Tongva descent. Knowledgeable of their native lands, they provided suggestions and advice on Spanish construction projects. A large, elaborate aqueduct system built around the Porciúncula was largely done by Amerindian labor. Despite their undeniably crucial importance to the entire colonization project, they faced harsh subjugation and treatment at the hands of the Europeans, who regarded them as inferior. The concept of  was prevalent in the Spanish New World and as the Spaniards intermarried with the Amerindian women, a new class of people emerged, which necessitated the development of the Sierran casta system.

In addition to the Amerindians, Coronel offered four rectangles of land (suertes) for farming to each settler, as his townspeople began constructing an aqueduct from the area's various water sources. Wildlife was abundant, and people could freely hunt and eat the various game and fish that roamed the wetlands and hills. Early commerce subsisted on bartering agricultural goods with crafts, animal hides, woven material, and other items. These plots of land favored farming, as opposed to the ranching-friendly practices favored in other land grants elsewhere.

Grands Ballons saw its first church built in 1804, the Cathedral of Our Lady Catalina, to commemorate the Marian apparitional event reported back in 1768. The completion of the church signaled a period of significant growth and the town's upward status as a place of utmost economic and political significance to the region. It was the focal point for trade between the Channel Islands and the Spanish towns further inland in the mainland. The Presidio Real de Bola Grande was established in 1807, and housed about 70 full-time soldiers, who also partook in agricultural work and commercial endeavors around town.

Geography
Grands Ballons is located at 33° 47' North, 118° 10' West, about 20 miles (32 km) south of downtown Porciúncula. According to the K.S. Royal Bureau of Census, the city has a total area of 51.437 square miles (133.2 km$2$), with 50.293 square miles (130.3 km$2$) of its area being land and 1.144 square miles (2.96 km$2$) of it (2.22%) is water. Grands Ballons completely surrounds the enclaved city of.

The city is situated at the southern coastal plains of the, which contains most of the Gold Coast's population and segments of Orange and the Inland Empire. Facing, Grands Ballons is also the southernmost city in the Gold Coast. It is located directly over the, a seismic fault capable of producing a 7.4 earthquake on the. The 's mouth flows into the Pacific Ocean in western Grands Ballons. The city lies just to the east of the and its. To the east of Grands Ballons is the provincial line between the Gold Coast and Orange, and the Orange city of. The is situated between the two cities and includes Grands Ballons'  district.

Cityscape
The city is generally laid out in the traditional, with the streets in Petite Rivière and the Old Spanish Town running parallel to the coastline in a northwest-southeast orientation. The Circle Area and College Park districts feature more modern, varied street distribution and curvature. The city is bounded by to the east. and are major freeways that run through the entire length and width of the city respectively. These freeways have informally marked the boundaries between the more affluent and less affluent sections of town. Generally, residents living to the south of the I-2B (and areas east of the GR-5 that are south of the I-2B) are more well-off than the opposite side.

Neighborhoods and districts

 * For a more comprehensive list, see Neighborhoods and districts of Grands Ballons.

Downtown
Downtown Grands Ballons is located immediately north of Half-Moon Bay, east of the Port of Grands Ballons (divided by the ), and west of Alamitos Bay. Its modern layout was developed during the mid-20th century after with the support of private investors and the federal and provincial governments. Downtown includes most of the city's high-rise buildings and corporate offices, city and county government buildings, Soleil Square, the, the , and the.

It is the second most visited part of Grands Ballons, after the Old Spanish Town. It is one of the most pedestrian-friendly parts of the city and is within short walking distance to the beach and other neighborhoods. The newer, more renovated East Village is considered part of downtown, and includes high-rise condos, coffeeshops, bistros, music halls, and cottages. The urban beach setting has attracted artists, writers, and young adults to the area, as well as Sierrans from other PSAs and international immigrants. The 2017 earthquake caused considerably less damage to the downtown area due in part to tougher building regulations and engineering requirements.

Old Spanish Town
The most famous and oldest section of the city is the Old Spanish Town (historically known as the Indian Rancheria or Ranchería India in Spanish), which lies just to the north of central downtown. It is listed in the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) and is separately classified as a by the League of Nations. The Old Spanish Town is located on the former Amerindian that Grands Ballons founder Julian Manuel Coronel established in 1797 and this colonial legacy is responsible for its iconic Franco-Spanish colonial architecture. The neighborhood is home to numerous local businesses, art galleries, restaurants, apartments, and offices. It is home to a large population of Sierran Creoles and is generally regarded as the core capital of Saintiana or the "Creole Coast" as it is more commonly called. The town is the recognized birthplace of shoowah music, and has a rich musical scene. Street performances and jazz bands are common throughout the district and occur on a daily basis, serving as attractions in of themselves.

The quasi-governmental organization that manages the district is the Old Spanish Town Preservation Society. The Society officially declares that the neighborhood is bounded by East Rothenburg Street to the north, St. Charles Boulevard to the east, Nieto Street to the south, and the Porciúncula River to the west. Within this zone, there are seventy blocks, and all existing buildings and structures are protected from demolishment. The Society is entrusted with preserving and maintaining these structures, while the municipal government is responsible for the district's roads and public utilities. Renovations to the buildings, whether exterior or interior, must be approved by the Society, and must fit the historical theme and architectural style of the district. New buildings also face similar scrutiny, although the lack of new land and stringent building codes have made this case a rarity.

Petite Rivière
Petite Rivière is bounded by Redondo Avenue on the east, Shoreline Drive and St. Charles Boulevard on the west, and Nieto Street on the north. It follows a 1.7 mile stretch of coastline along Ocean Boulevard. This district is lined up with various resorts, hotels, and upscale apartments on 51 blocks, of which 17 are directly connected to the beach proper. A popular vacationing destination for Sierrans and global travelers alike, Petite Rivière is where the majority of tourists lodge at, and it is within walkable distance to Downtown, the Old Spanish Town, and the Marina District. The district is also serviced by dedicated bus lines, taxi cabs, and bike rentals.

The beach is ideal for sunbathing, surfing, and swimming, and is the site of annual festivals and events. Other on-site amenities are provided to the public for free, including fire pits, volleyball courts, children's playgrounds, active lifeguards on duty, exercise machines, a skate park, and a dog park.

Climate
Although temperature ranges vary depending on location in the city, Grands Ballons can be characterized with having a hot-summer (: Csa) with strong  characteristics. Variance in temperature range increases as one moves further away from the coast, with North Grands Ballons often experiencing summer days that are 10 to 20 degrees Fahrenheit higher than Downtown Grands Ballons. Like much of the Southwest Corridor, the city frequently experiences cloudy, overcast skies known as "" in the mornings between the months of May and September. This fog formation generally dissipates by noontime, producing the characteristically sunny Sierran skies. Most rainfall occurs in the wintertime, with the heaviest precipitation occurring between the months of December and February. occasionally happens once or twice a year during the heavier rainy months. Snowfall is extremely rare in attitudes below 2000 feet in Grands Ballons and the Greater Porciúncula Area, with the last recorded snowfall occurring in 1949. Just as rare, if not even rarer are s and s, which have only directly hit mainland Sierra twice. , which caught the city off-guard, made landfall in Grands Ballons in 1939, causing over 120 deaths and $10 million in damages.

Demographics
The Census reported that 647,543 people (97.4%) lived in households, 9,972 (1.5%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 7,313 (1.1%) were institutionalized.

There were 239,482 households, out of which 74,478 (31.1%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 114,472 (47.8%) were opposite sex-married couples living together, 51,728 (21.6%) had a female householder with no husband present, 18,200 (7.6%) had a male householder with no female present. There were 16,524 (6.9%) unmarried same-sex partnerships and 957 (0.4%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 41,909 (17.5%) households were made up of individuals and 15,326 (6.4%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.57. There were 179,844 families (75.1% of all households); the average family size was 3.78.

There were 247,521 housing units at an average density of 5,271.3 per square mile (13,652.6/km$2$) of which 116,087 (46.9%) were owner-occupied, and 131,433 (53.1%) were occupied by renters. The houseowner vacancy rate was 2.7%; the rental vacancy rate was 6.4%. 317,788 people (47.8% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 329,755 (52.2%) lived in rental housing units.

According to the 2010 Census, Grands Ballons had a median household income of $54,573, with 24.2% living below the federal poverty line ($22,500 for a family of 4).

As of 2016, the population of Grands Ballons was 683,384. An estimate in June 2017 indicated that the population had risen to 687,284.

Religion
As a city with deep ties with the Spanish and French colonial past, Grands Ballons carries a prominent Roman Catholic character and tradition. The Catholic faith was the official religion under both New Spain and Mexico. The propagation of Catholicism to the natives was one of the official goals of settlement in Sierra, and this aim was initially carried out by the Californian mission system. In addition, many 19th and 20th century African-American and European immigrants, were Catholic. Roman Catholicism is the dominant faith in Grands Ballons and the surrounding Saintiana region. Within the Archdiocese of Grands Ballons, 33.4% of the population was Roman Catholic as of the 2010 census. The city's festivals, street names, architecture, parochial schools, cultural traditions, and social attitudes are indicative of its Catholic influences.

The nationally predominant Protestant tradition also has a strong presence in Grands Ballons, and is mostly practiced in the city's suburban neighborhoods. Dozens of Protestant denominations and churches are represented in the city, including the, , , , , and. During the 1970s and 1980s, the city was also the epicenter of a major Charismatic movement, with the Pentecostal One World Church, the movement's largest homegrown group, still based in the city.

There is a small community of practitioners, including Sierran Voodoo, a syncretic blend of, , , and local indigenous beliefs. These religions have a deep-rooted history in Grands Ballons, and their mystical ubiquity has drawn hundreds of thousands of tourists each year to the city's many voodoo shops and parlors.

Economy
Grands Ballons has, which saw some 72 million metric tons worth $110 billion in 2001. The Port of Grands Ballons, the neighboring, and the nearby Port of Little Gibraltar form the Tri-Port Area, whose combined operations form the busiest maritime port in the entire Western Hemisphere. Grands Ballons' economy was historically based on oil, after it was discovered in in 1921. Oil extraction and refinement became a major source of economic activity for the city, and generated a population boom that attracted thousands of Sierrans and international migrants to Grands Ballons. It has also been an important center for several major corporations and businesses, especially those involved in finance and trading. It also hosts significant manufacturing and health care sectors, which serves the Saintiana region.

Entertainment and tourism have also been a very important contributor to the city's economy. In 2010, the city spent over $22 million in tourism-related expenditures alone, ranging from promotions to improving public transportation. The downtown area continues to be one of the fastest-growing and rapidly changing parts of Grands Ballons, which has continuously received extensive renovations and earthquake-proofing to support these particular industries.

Port
The Port of Grands Ballons is a gateway between Anglo-American and Asian trade, and spans across 3,000 acres of land just southwest and adjacent to Downtown Grands Ballons. The second-largest port in Sierra, it adjoins the, the country's largest. The two ports and the Port of Little Gibraltar form the Tri-Port Area, a multi-port complex managed under a condominium between the cities of Grands Ballons, Porciúncula, snd Little Gibraltar, and the governments of the Gold Coast and the Channel Islands. Many logistics-related, shipbuilding, transportation, and shipping firms are located in the Grands Ballons metropolitan area, and are directly linked to the distribution centers at the port by rail or road. Major international shipping companies have an established presence in the port, including Penco, CMN, Circumnavigators United, World Trade Shipping, Adai International, and Seven Seas Exchange.

Just miles off the coast of Grands Ballons, there are many offshore oil rigs that are still in active operation. Although oil production has gone down over the years, the Porciúncula Area and surrounding geological regions still contain large reserves of crude oil ready for extraction. The Port of Grands Ballons contains 4 major petroleum refineries and has a combined crude oil distilled capacity of nearly 400,000 barrels per day. Several major energy companies have regional headquarters in Grands Balllons including Western Gas and Bixby. The Ministry of the Interior's Department of Energy has most of its central facilities and research stations based in the Port.

In addition to commercial shipping and freight operations, the Port also functions as a full-service cruise ship port. The Grands Ballons Cruise Hub receives approximately twenty ships a day on a busy holiday schedule, and is a central hub for numerous cruise lines with destinations to Los Pacíficos, Rainier, and Alaska. The Cruise Hub has four passenger terminals for cruise ships and six docks for smaller passenger watercraft.

Banking and finance
Grands Ballons is home to three Fortune 500 companies: Tramex, Vyndal Enterprises, and Rawlings. Other companies with headquarters or major operations in the city includes Del Toro Restaurants, Big Bear Banking, Kennedy, McConnor, MegaMart, Bench & Steer, Corpus Specialists, Cabrillo Technologies, Pham Pho, Fitzgerald Resorts and Entertainment, Palmer Systems, Bixby & Co., Gully's, and Howler. Many large financial institutions, multinational banks, and venture capitalist firms are also based in Grands Ballons. The Ministry of Finance's Bureau of Engraving and Printing, and the Royal Monetary Authority Bank of Grands Ballons are both based in the city's downtown area.

Tourism and entertainment
Tourism is a staple part of the city's economy. The tourism and hospitality industries have accounted for nearly 30 percent of the city's tax revenues, and employs well over 100,000 people from within the city and the metropolitan area. Tourism-related businesses and operations are primarily concentrated in the southwestern section of town, around the downtown area and the beaches. The city has its own dedicated tourism agency, the Grands Ballons Department of Tourism and Recreational Affairs, which represents the single largest agency of its kind in the region. The city has emphasized its strong and rich history, culture, cuisine, arts, and music as reasons which have drawn many to the city, as well as its year-round mild climate and renowned beaches. It also hosts a number of annual international conventions and events, including the Mezzaluna Festival, one of the world's premier cooking competition and conventions, held annually in the month of July.

Top employers
According to the city's 2016 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the top employers in the city were:

Cuisine
Grands Ballons is internationally renowned for its cuisine and is the birthplace of traditional Sierran Creole cuisine. The city's rich culinary traditions are the result of diverse, converging cultures and peoples interacting and sharing food throughout the centuries. Local ingredients have infused the culinary innovations of the French, the Spanish, the Creoles, the Mexicans, the Italians, the Germans, the Japanese, the Chinese, the Hans, the Vietnamese, and other ethnic groups who arrived and settled in the city. The city scene is dominated by cafés, coffeeshops, bakeries, restaurants dedicated towards Sierran Creole fare, dessiné shops, and bodegas. Brunch is served daily at many restaurants, and it is not uncommon for popular eateries to serve alcohol at discounted prices during extended happy hours.

Several iconic local dishes which emerged from Grands Ballons includes the chicken dessiné, a savory meat-based served with rice, and now commonly prepared as a hot box dish; the Ragoût Nantua, a seafood  stew smothered in ; the Mereterre sandwich; and -styled s.

Aside from its local cuisine, Grands Ballons is also a hotspot for Sierran and international flavors, drawing food from Asia, Latin America, the Middle East, and Europe. Like many major cities in Sierra, Grands Ballons hosts prominent s, with the biggest one centered in the East Village, offering a variety of familiar foods ranging from hot dogs to potstickers, alongside unconventional, bizarre kinds including fried locusts and deep-fried rat meat.

Grands Ballons is also well-known for its strong drinking culture, which contrasts with the traditionally "drier" Sierran culture, which discourages alcoholic consumption. The world famous Mayarí was first popularized in Grands Ballons, and inspired a friendly environment for experimental cocktails. Aside from specializing in cocktails and wine, the city also has a prevalent beer and coffee tradition, hosting numerous microbreweries and coffeeshops.

Museums, music, and the arts
Grands Ballons has always been a significant center for music and art. Its musical scene is the culmination of its colonial past and multicultural development, which grew out of the musical traditions of the Sierran Creoles and the many other groups who lived in the city. The city's unique combination of Franco-Spanish music with African and Caribbean rhythms spawned shoowah music, and was a major center for the development of Sierran jazz, and later hip hop. It also developed a distinctive style of rock music, known as the ritz, which was popular during the early 70s and 80s. Spontaneous jazz band processions and parades are common throughout the city, and are commonly seen performing for weddings, funerals, baptisms, and birthdays. Historically, these processions were useful for promoting community events, and were inclusive events meant to encourage would-be bystanders to join in celebration.

Numerous music festivals are held throughout the year with the busiest season between Mardi Gras (usually around March) and Labor Day (early September). The nighttime Grands Bash by the Sea is the city's largest musical festival, held during July, showcasing locally well-known bands and musicians, performing in a variety of genres ranging from traditional shoowah to contemporary rhythm and blues. This event, along with a number of others including the French Bonanza and the Feedback Loop Festival are held at the Jean P. Chouteau Park by the Porciúncula River. Professionally, the Grands Ballons Philharmonic Orchestra and the Grands Ballons Wind Symphony performs at the Langley Hall of Music in the Circle Area district. Due to the city's cosmopolitan and bohemian environment, Grands Ballons attracts tens of thousands of artists annually. The Old Spanish Town and East Village hosts over forty-five permanent art galleries and exhibitions, promoting art from local artists including paintings, sculptures, drawings, and other mediums. The Cantrell Museum of Art is the city's largest museum, showcasing over 1,200 works of art across several eras including Renaissance, contemporary, and modern art. In 2009, the K.S. Ministry of Culture provided a $45 million endowment grant to the city of Grands Ballons to promote the arts and art education. The Spiegel Glass Museum is another prominent art and science museum, exclusively displaying glass objects, documenting the history, and practical and artistic applications of glass.

The performing arts, including theater and dance, are all performed at the Grands Ballons Convention Center and the adjacent Grand Theater. Over the years, many major productions have been featured at the center, including The Count of Sardinia, Dastardly, Fortuna Forsaken, and Landon: The Musical. Historically, has also been performed, and saw its golden age during the 1950s and 1960s. Due to rising popularity and demand, the city has looked into constructing additional venues to accommodate more performances and guests.

Dialect
Grands Ballons has a distinct local dialect of Sierran English that is similar to with French and Hispanic influences. It developed from the English speaking patterns of the Sierran Creoles, who were and continue to use French as their first language, and further influenced by spoken by more recent African Americans and  by white speakers. Phonologically, it is most similar to Haitian English with a noticeable French intonation and semi-rhoticity. Grands Ballons English is a variety of the broad spectrum of Sierran Creole English, which has many borrowed lexicon and expressions from French, Spanish, and other languages.

French language
Like much of the Saintiana region and the neighboring Channel Islands, the French language has thrived and its usage is protected and promoted by the local governments. As one of the country's official languages, French is also a working language in the city of Grands Ballons. Street signs, documents, and other public information is frequently displayed bilingually, with English and French. The use of Sierran French Hanzi is also common throughout the city, and is taught in French-speaking classes throughout the city's public schools. The French language emerged from the French Channeliers who settled in the region and intermarried with the natives and other people of color. Its growing reputation as a French-speaking enclave in an otherwise Spanish-speaking territory sparked interest in Francophones who felt linguistically threatened in Anglo-America. The arrival of the and the Haitian  and their subsequent progeny helped cement French as the predominant language in the region. The ethnogenesis of the Sierran Creole people only furthered the extent of French as a language and an identity. The Sierran Creoles fought diligently to preserve their French tongue under the English-centric Californian, and later, Sierran governments. A series of laws passed during the Sierran Cultural Revolution helped protect French use definitively, and allowed Grands Ballons' French-teaching institutions and programs to be subsidized by the federal government.

Government
The government of the City of Grands Ballons operates under a. Citywide elections for most offices are held every two years, with the city divided into six wards. The Grands Ballons City Council includes nine members, six of whom are elected from each of the single-member wards, and three who are elected at-large. The mayor is elected from within the council as a first among equals and is chosen to chair its meetings and represent the city on ceremonial occasions. The current mayor of Grands Ballons is Earl Hughes Delafose (D), who was elected by the council on April 23, 2015. The council is empowered to pass citywide ordinances, adopt regulations, appoint officials in other offices, approve the city budget, set the tax rate, and carry out any other powers granted by the City Charter. In addition, the council appoints a city manager who is responsible for planning and creating an annual city budget, supervising each of the city departments, overseeing public complaints and intergovernmental correspondence, advising the council on operational affairs, organizing public events and meetings, and developing architectural plans for construction projects in the city. The current city manager is Marco Regalado, who was appointed on June 18, 2014.

The Grands Ballons Police Department (GBPD) has a force of over 3,500 sworn officers. The GBPD serves the City of Grands Ballons, as well as neighboring unincorporated communities, and cities which have entered into contract agreements with the department. The Chief of Police is Tyler Bertrand, who was sworn into office on February 8, 2008. Its headquarters is located in Downtown Grands Ballons on 3783 East Broadway, with two other stations in North Grands Ballons and the Old Spanish Town respectively. The Grands Ballons Fire Department has 459 full-time firefighters and works closely with the St. Anthony County Fire Department in fire prevention and firefighting. The city fire department is also responsible for providing, with all of the department's sworn members certified in performing and. Its emergency medical service's members are paramedics and health care specialists employed to performing and assisting the department in ambulance services.

In addition to city government and services, Grands Ballons is the seat of St. Anthony County. The St. Anthony Sheriff's Department, the St. Anthony Fire Department, Superior Court of St. Anthony County, St. Anthony County Jail, St. Anthony's Department of Human and Health Services, and other county institutions are all based in the city. The county's Board of Supervisors conduct their daily meetings at the county offices in the Civic Center in Downtown Grands Ballons.

Crime and public safety
Like most major cities, crime has always been a serious issue for Grands Ballons. Violent crimes are mainly concentrated in the city's less affluent neighborhoods, especially North Grands Ballons. The murder rate has historically been higher than the national average, although a large percentage of murders were the result of gang-on-gang violence. The number of homicides reached its peak in the 1970s when the city saw 279 murders in 1977. In response to increased crime, the city passed a series of ordinances to crack down on gang violence, including the banning of attire that depicted gang symbols and colors. In 1981, the city was listed at third place for the Top 10 Murder Cities in the country, behind Bernheim and Porciúncula.

Aside from murders, other major violent crimes committed in the city include, , , and. Although violent crime as a whole has been in decline, the city has seen a steady rise in cases, and misdemeanors by the city youth. Throughout the city, special emergency hotline poles have been installed. Brightly lit during the nighttime, citizens witnessing or escaping an active criminal act can press the pole's button to alert law enforcement authorities, and help bring attention to the location. Since the installment of the poles, crime has dropped significantly around these poles, and the police has been able to capture more criminals in such areas.

To prevent crimes against private property, many city businesses are heavily fortified with metal bars and armed with s and alarms. Since a 2009 ordinance, all lodging establishments have been required to deny any non-guests access to any parts of the establishment except the lobby or its affiliated restaurants or stores. In addition, a citywide curfew has periodically been issued for underaged minors to halt nighttime youth gang activity, including the Old Spanish Town (parentally supervised children and adolescents are exempt). Some have taken further measures on controlling access at the front door by manually locking it, and only allowing access to cardholders and other individuals at a case-by-case basis from a security officer. Despite this, many bars and restaurants have had very lax standards regarding public safety. Due to city tolerance, these establishments may stay open past midnight and may continue serving alcohol until 3 am.

The city also sees some of the highest rates in larceny and car-related theft, which is not limited to the underdeveloped parts of town. Theft has become an increasingly problematic issue in the more tourist-friendly parts of Grands Ballons. Local authorities caution visitors to be vigilant about and con artists. These criminals frequently take advantage of tourists' unfamiliarity with the city and crime. First-time tourists and international tourists are especially vulnerable due to their general assumption of safety in being in a public, tourist section of town.

Courts



 * Federal
 * District Court for the Southern District of the Gold Coast
 * Sierran Bankruptcy Court, 1st Circuit Bankruptcy Appellate Panel
 * Sierran Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of the Southwest Corridor


 * Provincial
 * Gold Coast Court of Appeal, Fourth District, Division One
 * Superior Court of the Gold Coast, County of St. Anthony


 * Heraldic
 * Court of the Lord Trenton in the Gold Coast

As a county seat and a major city in the Greater Porciúncula Area, Grands Ballons is the site of several judicial courts, including federal and provincial-level courts. The St. Anthony County Superior Court has jurisdiction over all of Grands Ballons and St. Anthony County, and includes several divisions (Juvenile Court, Court of Small Claims, Traffic Court, and Family Law Division), all located within the city. The Superior Court gained media attention during the highly prolific 2003 People v. J. P. Marsh murder case. Judge Maylene Takano presided over the trial, which involved former AAFL Grands Ballons Martyrs J. P. Marsh, the plaintiff, who was tried on two counts of murder, for the deaths of his longtime girlfriend Joyce Dawson, and their mutual friend Simon Becker. The controversial and racially-charged case, dubbed the "" by Sierran media outlets, ended with the acquittal of J. P. Marsh on both charges as .

Federal facilities
Grands Ballons is home to the offices of numerous federal agencies and facilities, including the Royal Monetary Authority Bank of Grands Ballons, the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, the Royal Bureau of Investigation, the National Surveyors' Corps, and the Domestic Security Agency, In addition, several international countries have consular offices represented in the city.

The Royal Monetary Authority Bank of Grands Ballons is the federal bank for the third district in Sierra and has one of the largest collections of K.S. paper money in reserves. The bank opened for business on November 9, 1945, following World War II, in the midst of the city's oil boom. It was originally intended to house additional paper money to relieve the amount stored in the Royal Bank in Porciúncula, and to be closer to the seaport, where money could be shipped out to Sierra's overseas territories. The Royal Bank building houses numerous commissioned paintings created by Sierran painter Pietro Barbieri during the, documenting the hardships of Sierran citizens during the troublesome times.

Elections and politics
Grands Ballons has been a reliable base for the Democratic-Republican Party since 1953. It has voted for Democratic-Republican prime minister candidates since the 1953 election, with 57.2% Sierran Creole voters choosing Henry Faulkner over Royalist incumbent and rival Christopher Roux. The city has also elected Social Democrats into office, mostly at the local and provincial level, with the highest support for Social Democrats in North Grands Ballons and the Old Spanish Town neighborhoods. Since 1996, the city has had uninterrupted Democratic-Republican control over the municipal government. This parallels with the County of St. Anthony and the Province of the Gold Coast, which has primarily been under Democratic-Republican control since that same year. Despite this, some of Grands Ballons' most affluent neighborhoods, including Naples, have strong Royalist support, and are represented by Royalist policymakers in Parliament and the Gold Coast Provincial Legislature. In addition, among the city's whites, Asians, and hapas, more than half vote for Royalists or Libertarians.

Public schools
The largest public school district in Grands Ballons and St. Anthony County is the Grands Ballons Unified School District (GBUSD), which comprises of 97 schools and 9 charter schools, servicing the city of Grands Ballons, and portions of Putian Park, and the entirety of Porcupine Hill. The district has been uniform-mandatory since 1994, meaning all students (with exceptions) are required to wear at all times, while on campus. The District educates over 160,000 students, the fourth-largest in the country. The district has been frequently criticized for its overcrowded campuses, and has been marred with spending scandals and child sex abuse cases. Over half of its schools were classified as "underperforming" by the K.S. Ministry of Education, and the district as a whole, only had a high school graduation rate of 79%, one of the lowest percentages in proportion to its population size. More than two-thirds of its student population come from low-income families, with most receiving free or reduced-cost lunch. Since 2009, the district has offered free lunch to K-12 students, regardless of actual attendance or not, during the summer months when there is no school.

Small sections of the city have schools falling under the jurisdiction of other school districts. Northeastern Grands Ballons is serviced by the Putian Park Unified School District whereas the schools in the Naples neighborhood are independent schools which resisted incorporation into GBUSD. The northernmost schools in Grands Ballons are served by Compton Unified School District.

Private schools
Private schools in Grands Ballons include both secular and parochial:
 * Bixby Chartered Boarding School (9-12)
 * Roxane Knolls Academy (PreK-12)
 * Nazareth Christian Academy (K-12)
 * Grands Ballons Adventist Academy (K-12)
 * St. Anthony High School (9-12)
 * Spirit of Prophecy Christian School (K-12)
 * Saintiana International School (K-12)
 * St. Thomas Lutheran School (K-8)
 * Grands Ballons Baptist Academy (K-12)
 * Grands Ballons Talmud Torah (PreK-8)

Colleges and universities
There are several institutions of higher education in Grands Ballons:


 * (SNUGB), a large research university affiliated with Sierra National University founded in 1949
 * , a public community college with two extension campuses in the Grands Ballons metropolitan area
 * Anthony University, a private Catholic university founded in 1927
 * Southern Sierra Institute of Culinary Arts (CulArts), a culinary school founded in 1937
 * Bixby School of the Arts and Music (BSAM), a visual and performing arts school founded in 1956
 * Grands Ballons School of Theology, a nondenominational Christian theological seminary and Bible college

The Sierra National University, Grands Ballons is the city's largest and most prominent institution of higher education. Located just east of the Circle Area district, the university had a campus size of nearly 40,000 students. The campus is one of the most selective in the entire Sierra National University system, and has consistently ranked high in national and Anglo-American lists for its academic excellence and student life.

Sports


In the past, Grands Ballons has hosted several sports events, including the Mega Bowl championships and venues for the Olympic Games. Both Mega Bowl championship games were held at the Overstars Center, between the Lansing Lancers and the Minneapolis Junkers in 1992, and between the Porciúncula Princes and the Houston Brazos in 2007 respectively. Two of Anglo-American college football's s are held in Grands Ballons: the Carnival Bowl and the Dessiné Bowl. The city also hosts the Grand Ballons Prix, which features formula cars running through a closed-circuit path that loops around Downtown Grands Ballons. The Grands Ballons Marathon runs every October and draws in as many as 55,000 participants, including runners and cyclists.

Sites of interest
Grands Ballons is a highly popular tourist destination, with many visitor attractions. It has consistently ranked in the Top 10 most visited cities in Anglo-America, receiving in over 18.5 million visitors each year. It sees its busiest season during Mardi Gras and spring break, attracting young adults and pensioners alike thanks to its live music concerts, happy hours, street festivities, rave parties, and dance clubs. The center of Grands Ballons' partying scene is in the Old Spanish Town, which extends into the East Village and Petit-Rivière. Aside from adult-oriented entertainment, the city also offers plenty of family-friendly forms of entertainment including the world-acclaimed, The Merlin , Splash N' Thrash Water Park, and the Grands Ballons Zoo. In addition, the city is home to the (formerly commissioned as the RMS Queen Mary), a retired ocean liner permanently docked in Downtown where she remains as a public museum and hotel.

The Old Spanish Town (known locally as simply, the Town), which was historically a ranchería established by the Spanish colonial government in the late 18th-century, contains vintage hotels, bed and breakfasts, bars, nightclubs, antique stores, cafés, restaurants, and boutique stores. It has been the premier location for tourism in the city, and has attracted millions for its colonial charm, bustling party scene, and vibrant culture. Notable tourist attractions in the Town include Magnolia Street (Rue Magnolia), the Basilica of Our Lady of Catalina, Backpackers' Row, Edison Square, Bixby Historic Mansion, and the Hall of the Greats. The Town is also home to the Jean P. Chouteau Park, which straddles alongside the Porciúncula River, and features a prominent botanical garden and a large community center. A recently introduced attraction is the horse-drawn carriage tours, which allows visitors to explore the streets of the Town at a leisurely pace. Various tour guides are offered daily, with each offering a different theme or approach to the Town, including nighttime ghost tours and history-oriented daytime tours.

Adjacent to the Old Spanish Town is the East Village, which features contemporary, modern architecture and upscale businesses and shopping centers. Various internationally renowned restaurants have operations in this part of town, attracting gastronomes worldwide. The East Village is home to a younger population and is fully invested in an artistic, bohemian culture not unlike that in the Old Spanish Town. It is a prominent LGBT-friendly section of town and features gay-friendly bars and establishments.

In addition to the city's numerous museums, art galleries, theaters, and performance halls in Downtown and the Arts District (see this section), Grands Ballons has many parks and public spaces. The Jean P. Chouteau Park, the city's largest and oldest park, is home to a large botanical garden which grows over 60 native species of plants, and has one of the largest collections of flowers in the Western Hemisphere in the park's Central Arboretum. In the Naples neighborhood, the Los Alamitos Wetlands Wildlife Preserve, has been protected and conserved by the Creole Conservancy Trust, which protects southern Sierra's endangered wetland ecosystems.

Aside from the city's beachfront attractions, several private companies and agencies offer boat trips and guides across the harbor. Waterborne activities including jet-skiing, kayaking, and surfing are especially popular during the spring and summer season, although is available year-round. There are also daily ferrying between Grands Ballons and Little Gibraltar in the Channel Islands, offering an alternative to the Bonaparte–San Pedro Tunnel for motorists traveling to the Channels. The highly esteemed and historic SS Thebes, a steamship built in the late 19th century, remains in full operation. The steamboat offers a leisurely trip around the bay with full-service buffet or three-course meals while a live band performs variety music.

Media
Due to its proximity to Porciúncula, Grands Ballons shares its media market with the larger city, meaning virtually all of the city's major news channels and radio stations also serve the Greater Porciúncula Area as a whole. Each of the five largest national television networks, RBS, Tokki, ENC, 16ON, and SBC, have high-definition television stations near Grands Ballons (in the city of ) (WRMX 2, WGS 4, WKMT 5, KPLA 7, and KPIN 11). Nearly every other significant television networks are also represented in the area and serve Grands Ballons, alongside the rest of the Greater Porciúncula Area.


 * 2 WRMX (RBS)
 * 4 WGS (Tokki)
 * 5 WKMT (ENC)
 * 7 KPLA (16ON)


 * 11 KPIN (SBC)
 * 13 WGBF (TV Monde)
 * 18 WGBA (Nueva Vida)
 * 22 KGAM (Ascensión)


 * 32 KJXL (Public Link)
 * 36 KPIN (Medi)
 * 40 KHOA (TBC)
 * 42 KWEX (SNN)

Grands Ballons has one local newspaper, the Grands Ballons Observer, which publishes daily, covering world, national, and local news pertaining to the Saintiana region. The Observer has a daily circulation of 213,982 and a Sunday circulation of 338,309. The publishers of the Observer also produce a monthly popular culture and lifestyle magazine, the Grands Ballons Traveler. Its main competitor is the Grands Ballons edition of the Porciúncula Times, which sees a daily circulation of 179,014. The Sierra National University, Grands Ballons produces a student-run newspaper, the Forty-Niner Bee, which publishes Mondays to Thursdays, during the fall and spring semesters.

Grands Ballons and Saintiana are part of the Greater Porciúncula Area. Like in television, the city shares practically all of its radio stations with the rest of the region. It is the headquarters of several radio stations in both AM and FM frequencies, most of which are broadcast in French.

Due to a combination of the city's proximity to and its own fame as a culturally unique and iconic city, Grands Ballons has been a frequent setting and subject in Hollywood films, television, and music. Its variety of locations and its friendly policies towards filmmakers have allowed the city to stand-in for shoots or scenes for many places around the world and within Sierra. The city has also been home to local television studios, the most famous of which is Balboa Studios, which operated from 1913 to 1997. The Kimmy Awards-winning television series Hempire takes place and is shot in Grands Ballons, with filmography and principal photography done at various locations including Grands Ballons Polytechnic High School and St. Charles Boulevard. The city was also the subject of the 2007 post-apocalyptic horror film The Final Coda, which depicted Grands Ballons in ruins and inhabited by hostile mutant zombies.

Airports
Grands Ballons and its immediate vicinity is primarily serviced by the Grands Ballons International Airport, located in the Circle Area. The airport is one of the nation's busiest, and was opened in 1994 to relieve congestion from the nearby busier and larger LAX as a. In addition, there are several other regional airports within half an hour, including the in St. Anne, Orange. Grands Ballons International contained the third busiest traffic and third largest passenger volume in the country. As of 2017, the airport has handled more than 24 million passengers per year, with service to more than 50 destinations, and hosting flights from 14 different airlines. The airport includes non-stop flights to destinations in Rainier, Brazoria, the United Commonwealth, Hani,, , Korea, South Vietnam, Mexico, , and Alaska.

Roads
Grands Ballons is served by six controlled-access highways (freeways), of which two are Interprovincials ( and ). The I-2B travels northwest–southeast through the center of the city as the Saintiana Expressway. It continues into the city of to the west and the Gold Coast–Orange border (at the town of ) to the east. The I-2B splits from the I-2B near this border, just outside the city limits, before entering and then exiting a short, narrow section of the eastern Grands Ballons neighborhood of El Dorado. It is a major freeway that runs north–south, and directs traffic in the region towards the.

In addition to the Interprovincials and Gold Coast Provincial Routes, the city is served by numerous major s, which runs through the busiest and densest sections of the city.

Sister cities
Grands Ballons has nine, and the year of initial partnership is provided:
 * Flag of Colombia.svg, (1992)
 * Flag of the United Kingdom.svg, , (1996)
 * Flag of Texas.svg, Brazoria (1972)
 * Flag of Japan.svg, (2005)
 * Flag of the United Commonwealth.svg, , United Commonwealth (1969)
 * Flag of France.svg, (1981)
 * Flag of Rainier.svg, , Rainier (1988)
 * Flag of Hani.svg, Hani (2001)
 * Flag of China.svg, (2004)