2006年VOA标准英语-French Students at Forefront of Jobs Law P

By Lisa Bryant
Villentaneuse, France
29 March 2006
 

Police forces use a water canon on protesters who are demonstrating against the first job contract law, known as CPE
  
  
France has been roiled¹ by waves of demonstrations² in recent weeks against an unpopular new job law targeting young workers. The latest and largest protest took place on Tuesday, when a million or more French, of all ages and backgrounds, took to the streets.  The angriest denouncements are being voiced at universities and high schools around the country.

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University of Paris 13 is a nondescript collection of cement buildings, a 10-minute train ride from Paris. It is one of more than a dozen public universities around the city, and on a recent afternoon the atmosphere at the campus center was boisterous³.

Large banners draped the cavernous room calling for the repeal⁴ of the CPE, the popular shorthand for a new French law which makes it easier to hire, but also fire young, first-time workers. At a booth scattered⁵ with flyers, union leaders like 20-year-old Elodie Lemoigne were urging fellow students to continue opposing the job law.

Lemoigne says students like herself do not want the government to touch social protections.  She says France's unemployment problem is not going to be addressed by creating job insecurity for young people. She wants nothing short of the repeal of CPE.
 

Dominique de Villepin (file photo)   
  
French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin says the law will reduce youth unemployment in France, where nearly one out of four people under 26 years is jobless.  Although the legislation makes it easier to hire young workers, it also allows bosses to fire them, without cause, during their first two years on the job.  Proponents⁶ of the measure hope businesses will be more likely to hire a young person because, if the student fails to perform properly, he can easily be dismissed.

Mr. de Villepin says he is willing to soften⁷ the legislation, but student and labor⁸ unions want it to be scrapped⁹ altogether.

That sentiment is shared by many students at Paris 13.  At a recent student assembly, a stream of young men and women took turns criticizing the new law.

Student protesters in Strasbourg, Tuesday  
  
Students opposing the legislation have blockaded and shuttered high schools and universities around the country. But Paris 13 remains¹⁰ open, in part, says President Alain Neuman, because most students here are from working class backgrounds. They juggle¹¹ jobs with their studies and cannot afford to make up exams later on.

But Neuman says he is worried that blockades and other problems will arrive here, as well. He says he senses a real despair among students at Paris 13, even if many will graduate with university diplomas.  He says they are still worried about their future.

Studies suggest many young French are worried about their future. In one youth survey by France's IPSOS polling agency last September, nearly half the respondents equated¹² globalization with fear. Young voters who feared they would lose jobs and benefits to new European Union members, also figured prominently in France's rejection¹³ of the European Constitution last year.  Critics argue that France cannot afford to keep generous social benefits and remain competitive.

They include Julien Gomez, a history professor at Paris 13.

Gomez says the French society can no longer afford societal privileges.  He says the French need to realize they have responsibilities.

Gomez supports the new job law, but he admits he is in the minority at Paris 13.

Still, interviews with students on campus suggest some are worried the protests are going too far. That is the sentiment of Achref Serbni, 19, a telecommunications student at Paris 13.

Serbni is against the job law, but he fears opposition¹⁴ here to it may turn violent.  He says students who want to demonstrate should be able to do so, but others should have the right to go to class and study.

The government fears young protesters will turn violent and reignite the riots and arson¹⁵ attacks that swept across France, last October and November.  Although Tuesday's demonstrations were largely peaceful, riot police in Paris clashed with roving bands of young thugs and arrested more than 700 people around the country.

So far, union leaders have rejected Prime Minister de Villepin's call for new negotiations¹⁶. Many now want French President Jacques Chirac to intervene and help resolve the crisis.

1 roiled   

v.搅混（液体）( roil的过去式和过去分词 )；使烦恼；使不安；使生气

参考例句：

• American society is being roiled by the controversy over homosexual marriage. 当今美国社会正被有关同性恋婚姻的争论搞得不得安宁。 来自互联网
• In the past few months, instability has roiled Tibet and Tibetan-inhabited areas. 在过去的几个月里，西藏和藏人居住区不稳定。 来自互联网

2 demonstrations   

证明( demonstration的名词复数 )； 表明； 表达； 游行示威

参考例句：

• Lectures will be interspersed with practical demonstrations. 讲课中将不时插入实际示范。
• The new military government has banned strikes and demonstrations. 新的军人政府禁止罢工和示威活动。

3 boisterous   

adj.喧闹的，欢闹的

参考例句：

• I don't condescend to boisterous displays of it.我并不屈就于它热热闹闹的外表。
• The children tended to gather together quietly for a while before they broke into boisterous play.孩子们经常是先静静地聚集在一起，不一会就开始吵吵嚷嚷戏耍开了。

4 repeal   

n.废止，撤消；v.废止，撤消

参考例句：

• He plans to repeal a number of current policies.他计划废除一些当前的政策。
• He has made out a strong case for the repeal of the law.他提出强有力的理由，赞成废除该法令。

5 scattered   

adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的

参考例句：

• Gathering up his scattered papers,he pushed them into his case.他把散乱的文件收拾起来，塞进文件夹里。

6 proponents   

n.（某事业、理论等的）支持者，拥护者( proponent的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Reviewing courts were among the most active proponents of hybrid rulemaking procedures. 复审法院是最积极的混合型规则制定程序的建议者。 来自英汉非文学 - 行政法
• Proponents of such opinions were arrested as 'traitors. ' 提倡这种主张的人马上作为“卖国贼”逮捕起来。 来自辞典例句

7 soften   

v.(使)变柔软；(使)变柔和

参考例句：

• Plastics will soften when exposed to heat.塑料适当加热就可以软化。
• This special cream will help to soften up our skin.这种特殊的护肤霜有助于使皮肤变得柔软。

8 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

9 scrapped   

废弃(scrap的过去式与过去分词)； 打架

参考例句：

• This machine is so old that it will soon have to be scrapped. 这架机器太旧，快报废了。
• It had been thought that passport controls would be scrapped. 人们曾认为会放开护照管制。

10 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

11 juggle   

v.变戏法，纂改，欺骗，同时做；n.玩杂耍，纂改，花招

参考例句：

• If you juggle with your accounts,you'll get into trouble.你要是在帐目上做手脚，你可要遇到麻烦了。
• She had to juggle her job and her children.她得同时兼顾工作和孩子。

12 equated   

adj.换算的v.认为某事物（与另一事物）相等或相仿( equate的过去式和过去分词 )；相当于；等于；把（一事物） 和（另一事物）等同看待

参考例句：

• Production costs for the movie equated to around 30% of income. 这部电影的制作成本相当于收益的30%。
• Politics cannot be equated with art. 政治不能同艺术等同起来。

13 rejection   

n.拒绝，被拒，抛弃，被弃

参考例句：

• He decided not to approach her for fear of rejection.他因怕遭拒绝决定不再去找她。
• The rejection plunged her into the dark depths of despair.遭到拒绝使她陷入了绝望的深渊。

14 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。

15 arson   

n.纵火，放火

参考例句：

• He was serving a ten spot for arson.他因纵火罪在服十年徒刑。
• He was arraigned on a charge of arson.他因被指控犯纵火罪而被传讯。

16 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。