Abbo can be viewed as a source for the collapse of Carolingian hegemony in 887–88. He regarded Odo as the legitimate successor of Charles the Fat in West Francia after Charles' death (888) and does not seem to have regarded the deposition of East Francia as binding on West Francia. Abbo also regards the empire as Frankish and he himself, though a Neustrian and Parisian, as Frankish as well. He does not present a united West Francia as a more basic political unit than the empire and is therefore seen by some historians as refuting the hypothesis that regional identities led to the breakup of the empire within Abbo's lifetime.