时代周刊:马克龙梦破,法国未来陷入迷茫(1)

France faces an uncertain future as the Macron dream falters¹

随着马克龙梦的破灭，法国面临着一个不确定的未来

Following a three-month pandemic delay, French voters went to the polls on June 20 for the first round of local elections, which will fill the seats of assemblies in France's 13 regions and 96 departments.

因新冠大流行而被推迟三个月之后，法国选民于6月20日举行了第一轮地方选举投票，将填补法国13个大区和96个省的议会席位。

There will be a second round of voting on June 27, but the electorate³ has already sent some clear messages.

6月27日将举行第二轮投票，但选民们已经发出了一些明确的信息。

President Emmanuel Macron's party, La République en Marche (LREM), has little local support.

法国总统埃马纽埃尔·马克龙领导的“共和国前进党(LREM)”在当地的支持少之甚少。

Main opposition⁴ leader Marine⁵ Le Pen and her right-wing National Rally party are not expanding their base.

反对派主要领导人玛丽娜·勒庞和她的右翼政党“国家大会党”的基础也没有扩大。

And a record number of eligible⁶ French voters can't be bothered to vote.

而且懒得去投票的合格的法国选民的人数也创下了纪录。

Four years ago, the French electorate cast a ballot⁷ for change.

四年前，法国选民投票要求改革。

In presidential voting, the traditional center-right finished in third place behind Le Pen and her far-right party.

在总统选举中，传统的中右翼政党排在勒庞和她的极右翼政党之后，排名第三。

The traditional center-left Socialists⁸ finished in fifth place behind the Communist Party.

传统的中偏左的社会党名列第五，落后于共产党。

The winner was Macron, a man who had never before run for office at the head of a party he had created from scratch little more than a year earlier.

获胜者是马克龙，他在一年多前白手起家创建了一个政党，此前从未作为该党领导人竞选过公职。

Macron's party won an astounding⁹ 308 of 577 seats in the Assemblée Nationale, France's powerful lower house of Parliament.

马克龙所在的政党在法国国民议会(法国议会下院)577个席位中赢得了令人震惊的308席。

Once in Office, the goal of any change candidate is to convince voters that he or she has made life better and the country stronger so that future elections will reject more change in favor of a new status quo.

一旦上台，任何变革候选人的目标都是让选民相信他或她已经让生活变得更好，让国家变得更强大，这样今后的选举就能拒绝更多的变革以维持新的现状。

But on June 20, Macron's LREM won just 11% of the vote, on par² with the Green Party and the Socialists.

但在6月20日，马克龙的LREM党只赢得了11%的选票，和绿党、社会党水平相当。

That's less of a shock than you might think. Incumbent¹⁰ parties rarely fare well in France's local elections, and LREM didn't exist in 2015, the last time they were held.

这可能没有你想象的那么令人震惊。在任政党很少能在法国地方选举中获得好成绩。上一次于2015年举行地方选举时还没有LREM党。

But there is nothing in these numbers to boost Macron's confidence as he heads into a bitter re-election fight next year.

但在马克龙明年面临激烈的连任竞选之际，这些数据并不能提振他的信心。

His best hope for now is that a swooning economy, pandemic lockdown fatigue¹¹ and an initially¹² slow vaccine¹³ rollout will give way to renewal¹⁴ by year's end.

他目前最大的希望是，到今年年底，低迷的经济、流感封锁疲劳以及疫苗最初的缓慢推出能够让位于(经济)复苏。

1 falters   

（嗓音）颤抖( falter的第三人称单数 )； 支吾其词； 蹒跚； 摇晃

参考例句：

• He never falters in his determination. 他的决心从不动摇。
• The plan never falters; the design never changes. It is all ordered. 大自然从不步履蹒跚，从不三心二意，一切都是有条不紊。

2 par   

n.标准，票面价值，平均数量；adj.票面的，平常的，标准的

参考例句：

• Sales of nylon have been below par in recent years.近年来尼龙织品的销售额一直不及以往。
• I don't think his ability is on a par with yours.我认为他的能力不能与你的能力相媲美。

3 electorate   

n.全体选民；选区

参考例句：

• The government was responsible to the electorate.政府对全体选民负责。
• He has the backing of almost a quarter of the electorate.他得到了几乎1/4选民的支持。

4 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

5 marine   

adj.海的；海生的；航海的；海事的；n.水兵

参考例句：

• Marine creatures are those which live in the sea. 海洋生物是生存在海里的生物。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

6 eligible   

adj.有条件被选中的；(尤指婚姻等)合适(意)的

参考例句：

• He is an eligible young man.他是一个合格的年轻人。
• Helen married an eligible bachelor.海伦嫁给了一个中意的单身汉。

7 ballot   

n.（不记名）投票，投票总数，投票权；vi.投票

参考例句：

• The members have demanded a ballot.会员们要求投票表决。
• The union said they will ballot members on whether to strike.工会称他们将要求会员投票表决是否罢工。

8 socialists   

社会主义者( socialist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The socialists saw themselves as true heirs of the Enlightenment. 社会主义者认为自己是启蒙运动的真正继承者。
• The Socialists junked dogma when they came to office in 1982. 社会党人1982年上台执政后，就把其政治信条弃之不顾。

9 astounding   

adj.使人震惊的vt.使震惊，使大吃一惊astound的现在分词)

参考例句：

• There was an astounding 20% increase in sales. 销售量惊人地增加了20%。
• The Chairman's remarks were so astounding that the audience listened to him with bated breath. 主席说的话令人吃惊，所以听众都屏息听他说。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 incumbent   

adj.成为责任的，有义务的；现任的，在职的

参考例句：

• He defeated the incumbent governor by a large plurality.他以压倒多数票击败了现任州长。
• It is incumbent upon you to warn them.你有责任警告他们。

11 fatigue   

n.疲劳，劳累

参考例句：

• The old lady can't bear the fatigue of a long journey.这位老妇人不能忍受长途旅行的疲劳。
• I have got over my weakness and fatigue.我已从虚弱和疲劳中恢复过来了。

12 initially   

adv.最初，开始

参考例句：

• The ban was initially opposed by the US.这一禁令首先遭到美国的反对。
• Feathers initially developed from insect scales.羽毛最初由昆虫的翅瓣演化而来。

13 vaccine   

n.牛痘苗，疫苗；adj.牛痘的，疫苗的

参考例句：

• The polio vaccine has saved millions of lives.脊髓灰质炎疫苗挽救了数以百万计的生命。
• She takes a vaccine against influenza every fall.她每年秋季接种流感疫苗。

14 renewal   

adj.(契约)延期，续订，更新，复活，重来

参考例句：

• Her contract is coming up for renewal in the autumn.她的合同秋天就应该续签了。
• Easter eggs symbolize the renewal of life.复活蛋象征新生。