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(单词翻译:双击或拖选)
Paris
23 November 2007
After nine days of crippling national transportation strikes France appeared to be returning to normal Friday amid negotiations1 between labor2 unions and government officials. From Paris, Lisa Bryant reports that while the walkout has snarled4 traffic, angered commuters and cost the country millions of dollars there appears to be one winner: French President Nicolas Sarkozy.
Even for strike-prone France, this has been a busy week. On Tuesday, teachers, postal6 workers and fire fighters poured into the streets protesting for better salaries and working conditions. On Wednesday, the tobacconists went on strike against a new anti-smoking law. Meanwhile, students have blocked roughly 40 universities nationwide to express their discontent about government plans to grant higher education institutes greater autonomy.
But it is a massive transportation strike, now in its second week, that has caused the most damage. Although unions and government officials have begun negotiating reforms to special pensions - and more trains are running - the strike continues to snarl3 traffic, particularly in the Paris area.
The unrest carries all the classic French ingredients. The government proposes reforms. The French protest. The government backs down. But this time around, the country's chief executive is Nicolas Sarkozy.
"After all, Sarkozy was elected to change things. And public opinion is still behind him," said American University of Paris politics professor Steven Ekovich. "And I think he realizes that in order to change things in France - and it is not easy to change things in France because, after all, it is rather conservative - Sarkozy understood that changes in France had to be done quickly and massively and not piece by piece. And we are seeing the consequences of that."
Surveys show a stunning7 majority of French support their hard-charging new president as he tries to end special pension perks8 benefiting a small slice of the population, most of them rail and utility workers.
On Sunday, several-thousand protesters even demonstrated against the strikes - an oddity in a country where walkouts usually evoke9 sentiments of "solidarity10" against the authorities.
At the Laumiere metro11 station in northern Paris, a loudspeaker informed commuters trains were functioning sporadically12 - rather than not at all, as it had a few days before.
The strike has enraged13 French commuters, who have waited for hours to get metros14 and trains to work, or remained snarled in traffic jams. Others walk or bike to work. But Thursday, businessman Philippe du Rhode decided15 to brave mass transit16.
Du Rhode said he was trying to stay calm. He believes France is undergoing a period of major change - and he is for that.
But another commuter5, Said Abdallah, was less enthusiastic.
Abdallah said France may need reforms, but he does not like the president's methods. He believes he should negotiate more.
Since taking office in May, Mr. Sarkozy has wasted no time making good on campaign promises to cut government spending and make France more competitive.
He has moved at a breathtaking pace - pushing through university and immigration reforms, coaxing17 the European Union to adopt a simplified treaty to replace its aborted18 constitution, sending his former wife to Libya to plead the cause of imprisoned19 Bulgarian nurses and speeding to Chad in connection with a questionable20 French charity.
After days of uncharacteristic silence, Mr. Sarkozy urged transport workers Tuesday to return to work, vowing21 the government would not back down.
In a speech to French mayors, the president urged strikers to reconsider continuing their walkout that has cost the country so dearly. He said those paying the price were ordinary French who have the rightful feeling of being taken hostage.
French analyst22 Etienne Schweisguth believes Mr. Sarkozy was right to begin his reforms with the special pensions that only affect a small percentage of workers, most of them in the rail sector23.
Schweisguth of the Paris-based Center for the Study of French Politics, says if Sarkozy is able to push through these reforms he will have weakened the unions - and that would be a good beginning for his larger strategy.
But whether the president will persevere24 in the long term is another matter. He has long been criticized for making empty promises - including those during his tenure25 as interior minister when he promised to overhaul26 the country's crime-plagued, immigrant-heavy suburbs. Critics say that has not happened.
Analyst Schweisguth says Mr. Sarkozy's problem is that many of the reforms he has pledged will only show results in the long term. So for now, he has to be content with announcements.
A poll published last Sunday in the weekly Journal du Dimanche found Mr. Sarkozy's popularity had slipped four percentage points since October - but still remained at 55 percent. And with the left and unions divided over reforms, France's president faces no major opposition27. At least not for the moment.
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1
negotiations
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| 协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过 | |
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labor
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| 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 | |
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3
snarl
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| v.吼叫，怒骂，纠缠，混乱；n.混乱，缠结，咆哮 | |
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snarled
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| v.（指狗）吠，嗥叫， （人）咆哮( snarl的过去式和过去分词 )；咆哮着说，厉声地说 | |
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commuter
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| n.(尤指市郊之间)乘公交车辆上下班者 | |
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postal
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| adj.邮政的，邮局的 | |
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stunning
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| adj.极好的；使人晕倒的 | |
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perks
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| 额外津贴，附带福利，外快( perk的名词复数 ) | |
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evoke
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| vt.唤起，引起，使人想起 | |
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solidarity
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| n.团结；休戚相关 | |
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metro
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| n.地铁；adj.大都市的；(METRO)麦德隆(财富500强公司之一总部所在地德国，主要经营零售) | |
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sporadically
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| adv.偶发地，零星地 | |
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enraged
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| 使暴怒( enrage的过去式和过去分词 )； 歜； 激愤 | |
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metros
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| n.地下铁路( metro的名词复数 )；（尤指）巴黎地铁 | |
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decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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transit
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| n.经过，运输；vt.穿越，旋转；vi.越过 | |
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coaxing
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| v.哄，用好话劝说( coax的现在分词 )；巧言骗取；哄劝，劝诱；“锻炼”效应 | |
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aborted
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| adj.流产的，失败的v.（使）流产( abort的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）（某事物）中止；（因故障等而）（使）（飞机、宇宙飞船、导弹等）中断飞行；（使）（飞行任务等）中途失败 | |
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imprisoned
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| 下狱，监禁( imprison的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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questionable
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| adj.可疑的，有问题的 | |
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vowing
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| 起誓，发誓（vow的现在分词形式） | |
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analyst
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| n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家 | |
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sector
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| n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形 | |
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persevere
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| v.坚持，坚忍，不屈不挠 | |
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tenure
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| n.终身职位；任期；(土地)保有权，保有期 | |
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overhaul
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| v./n.大修，仔细检查 | |
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opposition
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| n.反对，敌对 | |
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