Is there any way this could be possible? What would the effects be if it were possible?
I'm not sure this particular entity would make much of an impact on the oveall social/cultural climate of Gaul. Yes, it's always mentioned as the "last fragment of western Rome", but how different was late-Roman Gaul from early Francia? Not very. Even the language wouldn't be much affected: remember that even in the Carolingian era it's not terribly clear where Vulgar Latin ends and Old French begins. How about feudalism and manorialism? There are arguments that things were trending that way anyway with the breakdown of Roman bureaucracy.
Politically, though, if Syagrius' forces were able to hold their own against the bulk of the Franks, there could be big implications. Soissons' territory was more-or-less the Frankish heartland in the Merovingian years, so for it to survive you'd essentially have to re-imagine early medieval Europe without a large Frankish state, or one where the Franks set up shop somewhere else.
To be fair, French doesn't have much of a Germanic influence in OTL, either.The ATL Gallo-Roman language in this scenario might not have much of a Germanic linguistic influence if the Franks are knocked down. I don't see Syagrius' Roman remnant having the strength to expand into the lands of the other Germanic tribes as did the Franks under Clovis and his successors. The Gallo-Romans still would have to deal with the Visigothic Kingdom in their south.
I'm not sure this particular entity would make much of an impact on the oveall social/cultural climate of Gaul. Yes, it's always mentioned as the "last fragment of western Rome", but how different was late-Roman Gaul from early Francia? Not very. Even the language wouldn't be much affected: remember that even in the Carolingian era it's not terribly clear where Vulgar Latin ends and Old French begins. How about feudalism and manorialism? There are arguments that things were trending that way anyway with the breakdown of Roman bureaucracy.
Politically, though, if Syagrius' forces were able to hold their own against the bulk of the Franks, there could be big implications. Soissons' territory was more-or-less the Frankish heartland in the Merovingian years, so for it to survive you'd essentially have to re-imagine early medieval Europe without a large Frankish state, or one where the Franks set up shop somewhere else.
Perhaps one possibility is for Childeric to remain in exile, allowing Aegidius to continue to rule the Salian Franks in his place, and consequently meaning that the alliance between them continues, rather than Clovis ending it, and Soissons taking over the Salians rather than vice-versa. If this continues then it could be that Zeno bestows legitimacy to him rather than Odoacer.
Forgive me, but since I'm Dutch, I'm also concerned about the effect of this on the Low Countries, especially the Dutch speaking part, since the Salian Franks lived in this area and furthermore Dutch is for a large part derived (I hope that's the correct term
) from (Germanic) Frankish. And because of this I naturally don't fancy a takeover of the Salian Franks by Soissons, which doesn't make it less interesting, but I find it personally less likeable
.
And IOTL it took a while before the Frankish nobility became French, there even was a period were the Southern Frankish nobility (living in the Gallo-Roman part of Northern France) sent their children to their relatives in the Germanic Frankish part of the realm...
Franks are just too many to be fully integrated at short term.
But, with a northen broder secured, Sygarius could led a roman sucessor state between Somme and Loire.
Then, or it become a visigothic protectorate, or Sygarius (or descendent if we admit this state would be stable) can beat Burgonds and pearaphs Alemani, and the state could retake Lyons, allowing a more latin late gallo-roman culture, more linked to meridionals ones as occitano-roman or italo-roman.